Generation One Universe The Project N Crisis
by Jetplague
Summary: Just when you thought it was over...The Transformers - Generation One Universe Series Is Back! The battle for Archeville's Project N secret now resurrects the conflict between the Autobots and the Decepticons as they struggle for control of it.
1. Default Chapter

The Transformers – Generation One Universe: The Project N Crisis

The continuing saga of the Generation One Universe series.

By Jetplague (a.k.a – Jeff Walker)

Chapter One – The New Mission Begins

"I am Optimus Prime, Leader of the Autobot faction of Cybertron. We come in peace to your world and wish to extend our hands in friendship in the hopes that you, the people of Earth, share in our good nature. Stranded on your world, my fellow Autobots and I are willing to share some of our technological advancements in exchange for energy and equipment necessary to rebuild our ship so that we may return home. So far I have met many of your kind, all of whom have helped us a great deal during some difficult times, they have become our entrusted allies and dearest friends. As I stand here and look out at you all, I see a proud and honorable species. When the Decepticons threatened this planet, you rose up and stood against their evil, even if it meant your very lives. And we were there beside you, to help fight for your world in a chance to not let their tyranny overtake it as our own planet has. You would fight for freedom and peace just as we would, and do whatever necessary to maintain it...no matter the cost.

I am honored today that you have included us as members of your United Nations, making us honorary citizens of the planet Earth. Cybertron, once it has been liberated after our return, will grant you the same title on that day. And as I finish my speech to you all, let me say this...In the vast, dark recesses of space, millions of inhabited worlds like yours and mine, look up and dream of possibilities for a better tomorrow. Sometimes the darkness looks as though it will go on forever and consume us all. But always know, that even in the darkest hour...a light will shine through it and bring hope to those who have none left. For that will be the day when the light of hope destroys the darkness for good, it will show us the way back and bring us all into focus again ...it will be the day...when all shall be one."

- Optimus Prime, Leader of the Autobots

A statement made to the members of the Earth United Nations one week after the Decepticons defeat.

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Earth

Four months later...

On the scorching hot desert sands of a mountainous region, a lone speeding vehicle drives down a worn out path through the rocky plains of this never-ending labyrinth. The blazing sun high above in the bright blue sky gave the terrain an arid look, the breeze was low, the soil parched, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky that would spell relief for this hostile outdoors. As the vehicle zooms past a sharp turn, we see that it is a small yellow Volkswagon Beetle with a large red Autobot symbol sitting on the top of its' roof.

"I don't know where to begin to explain, or even how to start to tell the story that has changed my life forever." A human male voice soon says. "The events that took place on this small blue planet have been interesting to say the least. So I'll just give the basics and try my best to fill in what has happened so far. It's been four long months since the day the Autobots defeated the Decepticons, four months to the day that their ship was sent to its doom as it crashed into the Pacific Ocean and destroyed them all for good. With Megatron finally out of their way, the peace loving Autobots can now return home and begin a new life on their home world of Cybertron."

The car continues to snake down the faint brown dirt road as the tires stir up the dust behind it. The engine continues to roar as it builds up speed on the man made car trail.

"Optimus Prime's victory was heralded all over the world as the news channels showed the truth of what had been happening, it was amazing to see how the people of Earth gave these brave robots a parade like no other. The United Nations welcomed the Autobots to Earth in a more official capacity and even agreed to give their new allies a helping hand to save their dying world. Energy, steel, water...whatever they needed to get back home, I was just as shocked to see the world leaders agree about anything...let alone as one voice to help a strange group of robots from a distant world. It just goes to prove how unpredictable...how refreshingly unified our people can truly be."

The car makes another sharp turn and now cuts over to a newly made path just off of the other one it was on. The sound of the gears changing and the tires spinning in the loose dirt makes the car buckle and shake as it treads over the unsettled carved out road.

"Speaking of which..." The voice continues. "There was a massive change of all the governments across the globe, rumors were saying that it was a huge conspiracy and that everyone involved had ties to a secret plot to take over the planet for themselves...or for one person. Not surprising enough, it was only one man who sound the charge to this radical reform. Senator Shawn Berger took his evidence right to the U.N. itself and asked that all top levels of governments in every country be replaced. After a quick session in a closed council room, the world representatives were all questioned about what had been discussed and Berger's recommendation for world reform followed through. It must have been damning stuff for it to happen so quickly, because the minute it did, they all started to up rise against their own leaders. The same ones, who welcomed the Autobots so openly, ended up going to jail or exile for betraying their own people. Somehow I think I know who it was they were all linked too..."

"Hey Spike...you bout done doing your little recap on that thing there? Sheesh..." A robotic male voice now suddenly says sarcastically.

Inside the yellow car was Spike Witwicky, dressed in blue jeans, a blue T-Shirt with a white Autobot logo and brown hiking boots. In his hand was a small hand held blue and black digital recording device. His dark brown hair had now been cut to a neat look, and he was sporting a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah...almost done. Don't you guys keep a journal or some sort of record of what happened?" The young man laughingly says to the Transformer.

"We do...but we keep it to ourselves and not blab it out for everyone else to hear. Your boring me to tears for Primus's sake!"

"Ah Bumblebee, switch off your audio receivers then...I'm doing this to keep a detailed account of my life." Spike defensively rebukes. "Who knows...maybe one day they'll make a book or a movie about it. Oh and did you hear? They're asking permission to make toys out of you!"

"Don't remind me." Bumblebee grumbles. "Humans...never seen such a species go crazy over something as stupid as chunks of plastic."

"Just like a bunch of transformable robots looking for Energon, huh? To each his own my friend...to each his own." Spike laughs as he leans back in his driver seat; the car drives by on its own and doesn't require him to move the wheel at all.

As they ride over a small dirt hill, the mountainside home of the Autobot's headquarters could be seen rising over the trail. The newly made road lead strait for the towering spire of rock, with a large constructed barrier of metal and wire giving it a noticeable buffer of the area around it. Just before Bumblebee got nearly half way near the main gate, two large plasma cannons popped out from either side of the road he was on and pointed over in his direction. The small Autobot vehicle came to a screeching halt as he noticed the weapons aiming right for him.

"What the-?!" Bumblebee screamed.

Spike wasn't prepared for the sudden stop and wasn't even properly restrained in the vehicle either. He quickly grabbed onto the car's driver wheel for dear life as he rocked from the car coming to a rest.

"Ow! What's going on?!"

Suddenly another roadway device opened up and a large holographic image of Prowl's head appeared before them.

"Identify please!"

"Prowl?!" Bumblebee shouted at it. "Hey what gives?! It's bad enough trying to keep stable on this road without you springing some weapons on me!"

"Sorry Bumblebee" Prowl's voice echoes in the air. "This is a new protocol I've decided to create in order to keep this place secure. We've had a lot of news crews, whackos and the likes trying to get up here. Hey Spike...how's it going?"

Spike just waves to the massive holo-image of Prowl as it smiles at him.

"Ok Prowl just turn off the guns and let us in will ya?" Bumblebee says with frustration.

"Sure thing." Prowl states. "Just as soon as you give me your clearance number...Identify please."

"WHAT?!!" The little yellow Volkswagon shouts again.

"Kidding...kidding! Just yanking your camshaft lil' buddy." He chuckles at him. "But seriously, learn your code cause the next time this thing is going to be on automatic."

"Yeah ok, whatever." Bumblebee growls at him.

The weapons fold back down into their hidden areas and the image of Prowl disappears. Bumblebee continues to drive through and heads past the large metal barriers that slide open an opening for him.

"Security my bumpers. Nearly scares me half to death...I'll kick his back side for it..." The Autobot mutters to himself.

As they drive up the mountain and towards the Ark opening, Spike sits up and notices that they're almost at the foot of it.

"Hey B-man, just drop me off here will ya. I want walk the rest of the way."

"Sure thing Spike, I want to go say a special hello to Prowl anyway." He says with an evil snicker.

Spike gets out of the car as it comes to a stop and shuts the Autobot's door afterwards.

"Just remember...he's supposed to be securing the Ark. So try not to be too hard on him."

"I can't promise anything Spike...but gentle is the one thing I won't after his little stunt."

The yellow Volkswagon peels his tires and zips down into the long hall into the embedded ship. Spike just shakes his head and tries to envision what might happen when Bumblebee gets a hold of Prowl. The thought makes him giggle and quietly laugh as he continues to walk in the vast Ark passageway. As he strolls along, a few Autobots come walking past him and greet him warmly.

"Hey guys!" Spike smiles.

"Oh, hi there Spike." Huffer says raising his shining chrome hand.

"Spike my man, what's eating Bumblebee...he's rushing down the way like a wild bot." Jazz asks.

"Uh...think he's really itching to say hello to someone."

Suddenly a loud crashing noise is heard and the voices of the two Autobots, Bumblebee and Prowl, are screaming at one another. Spike shrugs his shoulders and smiles at the two Autobots laughing at the sound. The young man continues down the long hall and speaks into his digital recorder again as he remembers it's still in his hand.

"Uh...right. Where was I? Oh yeah...now that the Autobots are fully stocked and ready to begin construction of the new ship, Optimus Prime has been quietly in the main assembly room or bridge if you will, for sometime. He seemed somewhat pre-occupied after the U.N. meeting and has been watching news clips of all the times the Decepticons and his Autobots have battled. Wheeljack has also been acting rather odd, instead of focusing on designing a new ship; he seems to be sticking to newly constructed lab just outside the Ark. Maybe it's just me...but I think these two have more pressing thoughts on their minds other then going home. Well, guess that's all for today's message...this is Spike signing off."

He shuts the device off and places it into his back pocket. Once he places it in, he finally arrives at the main large archway of the control bridge. Upon entering it, he notices Optimus Prime sitting at the large monitor of Telatran One and still scanning news images of the previous Autobot/Decepticon battle. His eyes, as bright blue and hauntingly glowing as they are, reflect the various images as it flickers off the screen. Each time the image stops, it focuses on the humans and of the captured moments of the large laser blast that sent the Decepticon ship into the ocean.

"Telatran One...give me a new satellite shot of the human military instillation called Area 51 again."

"Affirmative." The electronic dull male-sounding voice of the computer replies to the leader.

The orbiting space satellite of human design activates and obeys the Autobot computer's commands. It's high-resolution camera zooms down at the location from above and shows Optimus Prime the layout of the place in great detail. The place almost looks deserted but still highly protected by various electrical fences and a few military guards. As the giant red robot stares from under his blue helmeted head, Spike walks up beside him and tries to snap Prime out of his gaze.

"Nobody home in there huh?"

Prime looks down beside his chair and sees the small human friend.

"Hello Spike, no the place is still very active...just not on the surface. Telatran One can't seem to penetrate their underground operations; we can't even seem to go beyond this point on here. Archeville is up to something new...I just know it."

"So why didn't you go in there and take him on?" Spike inquires. "It's been four months and you haven't even made a budge."

"I was rather hoping your own world governments would handle this. After all, this is your planet's concern...not ours."

Spike folds his arms as he looks at the leader, "Oh really? Then I suppose your 'concern' didn't interfere with your return flight home? Come on Optimus...you guys could have built your space ship at any given time and left here already. What's the real reason, huh?"

Prime looks around for a second to see if anyone else is in the room and then leans over to Spike as he explains.

"Alright Spike, but just don't spread this around...at least...not yet anyway. I have reason to believe that if we attempted such a thing, that Archeville would once again raise his weapon and try to sabotage our flight. After witnessing the destructive power of the laser they used on Megatron's ship, my concern is for the safety for my men and perhaps your people as well. I've been waiting to see if he'll open up the weapon again so I can have a better look at it. So far...nothing. I don't even know if Archeville is still on the base grounds anymore...this secret he so intent on protecting...this Project N...I've got to discover what it is before he creates yet another horrible weapon, one that might be a danger to the lives of millions of people...Cybertronian and Earthmen alike."

"Well...I've got to hand it to the madman." Spike says rubbing his head thinking about it. "He is pretty creative. He's managed to even keep the military at bay for this long...and that kinda scares me."

"It scares me too Spike..." Prime says as he looks back at the monitor squinting. "There's no telling of what is to come yet from this dangerous human."

Deep below in the Pacific Ocean, where the light almost fades into the darkness of the vast, vacant waters of hull crushing depths, three streamline black looking submarine like crafts voyage through the pitch black murky water. The hulls looked modified with a dark purple structure running all along the sides of the ship. In between the cracks of where the metal parted in some areas was a strange dimming glow of neon like lights peering out of them. Silent and swiftly they planed through the water, only a faint hum could be heard from behind if one were to come near it at close range. These were vessels that no one could detect, not even from a high orbit above the Earth, for these where ghost submarines of a most un-natural design.

Inside the leading submarine, sitting in the command bridge that looked more like something of a science fiction novel then an actual submarine vessel would have inside, was an old Caucasian man sipping on a cup of tea. The chair was black in leather, with a belt harness behind him that wasn't being used; all around the chair were brass rails that separated his seat from the rest of the deck. His teacup was bone white china with a blue embroidered design on the sides and had a saucer to match as it was clutched in his other hand. The man was sporting black pants and a black turtle neck that gave him a very comfortable look, his dark navy blue jacket rest on the side arm of his chair as he leaned on it with his left elbow. The entire room was filled with strange looking computers, men dressed almost the same as he where running around and operating the various stations. A female African American officer was steering the helm of the submarine, she maneuvered the vessel with just a small chrome driver's wheel in her hands. She kept her eyes focused on the many electronic displays telling her of her distance, depth and speed of which the craft was moving.

"We're nearing the next targeted area Doctor Archeville." The female pilot informed him.

"Very good helm. Signal the fleet to reduce speed and begin the search immediately." He commanded her as he placed his tea down on a small glass table in front of him. "And give me a direct link to A-51 headquarters...I want to speak with Mr. West."

"He's already online sir..." She says back after checking the console. "He's demanding to talk to you personally."

"On speakers Ms. Delmar."

A quick snap of electronic static and the voice of Mr. West can be heard in the room with absolute clarity.

"West here Doctor. I've been trying to hail you for hours now." He says with a worried tone.

Archeville leans back in his chair and folds his hands together. "I know...we've been in deep waters and transmission has been unusually choppy at best. What is this urgent matter Mr. West?"

"Sir, the Autobots are continually trying to use Telatran One to scan this base. We've been monitoring the signals for some time and we feel that they may eventually target us for an attack soon."

"Your worries are unfounded Commander West." Archeville sighs. "They've had the chance to raid our facilities for four months now. I highly doubt they will attempt such an operation without the world's permission. But since I have no more of my contacts in the government to tell me otherwise...you must prepare for any contingency."

"Yes sir." West replies back. "I still can't believe our organization was disassembled so quickly. They found every one of your plants across the globe in a matter of weeks. Are you certain that you can still remain safe in those waters out there? It's possible they're looking for you in just about every inch of the planet by now."

Archeville rises out of his chair and places his arms behind his back, the frustration of being a hunted man tightens his fists and makes him pace while he speaks to the nervous commander.

"Yes, how dare they even attempt such a foolish thing. Curse them all...and curse those Autobots for helping them look for me. But we all know it was Chip Chase's files that gave that stupid Senator my every contact. I should have never trusted General Pressman to oversee their destruction as he arrested the Chase boy. I should have handled that minor incident myself...but...what's done is done. Speaking of Chip Chase...is he ready to give me more information on the Project or not?"

"He's been very forth coming in the data sir." West announces with pride. "Your little threat to him seemed to increase his productivity ten fold."

"Excellent commander...excellent." The doctor grins. "Now all we need to do is find the Decepticon wreckage and bring it all back to the base for study."

"How is it going if I may be so bold to ask?"

The old man sat back in his chair and gave a sour face. "The ocean is a harsh mistress my dear Mr. West. It's like there's no trace of them anywhere on the bottom of this watery grave of theirs. I don't understand how we cannot detect their signatures at all...let alone a single scrap from their vessel. We're going to scan this area and then move to the lower depths of the ocean floor canyon. I'm afraid that contact will not be possible for some time. So, your orders are to protect the base at all costs and keep the secret of Project N with your very lives. Is that understood?"

"Understood sir." West acknowledges.

"Oh and West..." Archeville adds. "You are now the leading head of operations of the base in my absence...you are to also take charge of Level 13. If something should go wrong...you must also carry out my other instructions for that other project. Clear?"

"Yes sir." The commander responds again. "I will follow your orders to the letter sir. Happy hunting...West out."

The commander's voice snaps off and the sub becomes silent again. Archeville rubs his chin in thought as he wonders as to where the Decepticon's debris field could be. The ocean is vast with many deep canyons and cracks that go beyond were no sub could travel. Even with modifications, they are stretching the safety limits of this vessel as it is, if they were to dive down too deep and to a point where they could not escape the crushing pressure...the mission and their lives could be over. But Archeville is determined to locate the wreckage and return with the alien robot technology he craves so much. Grabbing his tea again, he takes another sip from it and sits up in his chair.

"Helm...give me a status report." The old man commands.

"All ships have scanned the area sir. No debris or signatures found." She says glancing back at him.

"Very well. Tell the fleet to move to the canyon location and prepare for crushing depth. Let's be bold and see what lies in wait for us there."

"Aye sir." She nods.

The three dark stealth submarines speed up and travel together as they move to the gaping canyon floor that lies a few miles away from them. Still silent in their motion, the ships disappear into the blackness of the ocean deep like cruising sharks.


	2. What Lies Beneath

Optimus Prime and Spike walk side by side as they leave the Ark and head outside as they stroll to a new destination. Spike seems to be almost jogging next to Prime rather than walking, the robot's large legs give him great strides that many humans would find hard to keep up with. As the two step out beyond the ship, they notice Brawn and Windcharger standing together and snickering as they look down the rocky hill.

"Look at that fool...I swear Cliffjumper is just itching to head back home and kill some 'cons" Brawn snickers.

"What's going on here?" Optimus inquires.

"Hey Optimus, Spike..." Windcharger nods to both of them. "Well we're busy watching Cliffjumper show us his new weapon to defeat the Decepticons back home."

"HEADS UP!" Cliffjumper's voice echoes from the bottom of the hill.

A large blast of energy comes streaking by their heads and strikes the side of the mountain where Cliffjumper's target was. The debris falling causes Optimus to cover Spike from harm, Brawn and Windcharger shield their faces from the rock fragments that strike down at them. Brawn looks over to see if Spike is ok and looks over at smiling red the mini-Autobot as he runs up the hill with his massive gray weapon.

"What are ya stupid or something!!" Brawn yells. "Why don't you think before you fire a monstrosity like that?!"

The Autobot leader stands up after covering Spike; the young man is unharmed but rattled by Cliffjumper's blasting.

"Cliffjumper! What in the name of Primus do you think you are doing?! You could have nearly killed Spike here!"

"Oh...uh...sorry. Sorry Optimus...Sorry Spike." Cliffjumper apologizes like a child being caught doing something wrong. "But I was only giving my new energon weapon a try...that's all."

Prime walks over to him with anger and yanks the small robot's weapon away.

"Energon weapon?! Give me that thing...from now on you come to me for any new weapon you'd like to test out...preferably to ask for a more suited testing ground before using it! Is that understood soldier?!"

"But...but Optimus..." The mini-robot stutters.

Coming closer to his face, Prime stares him down and repeats his order. "I said...is that clear?!"

"Yes." Cliffjumper breathes defiantly.

"Good." The leader nods to him. "While I appreciate your enthusiasm for our return home, you must remember to think of the humans that tend to walk around the base of late. Especially Spike here."

"No harm done Prime." Spike says as he steps in as and wipes off his clothes of dust. "But next time Cliffjumper...give me a call if you need to have someone help adjust the settings."

A quick wink from the young man gives Cliffjumper his smile back and laughs at Spike's attempt of putting humor in a tense situation. Even Optimus Prime gives a little giggle as he soon shakes off his anger towards the trigger happy Autobot.

"Yeah...you bet, Spike!" Cliffjumper cheerfully replies.

"What are you using to power that thing anyway?" Spike inquires.

Cliffjumper realizes Prime isn't going to give him back the weapon as he soon tries to reach for it and watches the leader pull it away from his reach.

"Oh...uh...right. Well, I was making this thing while in Wheeljack's new laboratory...and well...since I saw a chunk of one of those ruby crystals from the Burma mines, I thought I'd test one out to see what it was like."

Prime's eyes squinted at him with curiosity. "Wait a minute...how did you get your hands on a ruby crystal?"

"Wheeljack has some. Not too big mind you...but ones that Ratchet managed to un-lodge out of Bumblebee and my chassis from the Burma explosion. He's studying them right now."

Optimus stroked his manifold chin with his free hand and remembered the incident at the ruby mine of Burma. The Decepticons were very keen on collecting those rubies, for what he could only assume meant that they produced a source of energy. The mine's destruction was very powerful and blast radius was unusually large for the amount of bombs Bumblebee and Cliffjumper used to stop the Decepticons. Now he had to go see Wheeljack to get an answer, as he began to walk away, he turned to Brawn and handed him Cliffjumper's dangerous new toy.

"Very well, I'm going to speak to Wheeljack about that, in the mean time no more fooling around guys, here...put this thing in storage and don't let him use it again."

Brawn chuckled as he took hold of the weapon and shook his index finger at Cliffjumper with sarcasm. "Tsk, tsk...looks like you don't get to play with this anymore."

Spike giggles as he watches the small robot's reaction to Brawn taunting him and follows the Autobot leader walking away from the three mini-Autobots. Cliffjumper folded his arms in frustration and stuck out his lip in disappointment.

As Spike and Prime came around the mountainside and to a newly cleared area at the base of it, the young man finally got to see Wheeljack's new temporary lab that the Autobot's created for him. It was made from the same metal as the ship, possibly from ripping down a few panels from inside the Ark and was about the size of a three-story building. The path was carved down around the mountain and leading straight to the doors of the massive structure. It was impressive to Spike to see such a unique building that probably wasn't much more then a tool shack to the Autobots, but very cool to his eyes nevertheless. The two entered the lab as the massive orange metal doors slid open and instantly saw Wheeljack sitting over at a large computer with a laser scanner. The scanner was built into the Telatran One-like facsimile, as it pulsated a large green laser beam down to a ruby crystal fragment that sat inside of it.

"Telatran One...link up with this computer and verify findings on exhibit Alpha Three One." The relaxed looking white and gray colored Autobot said as sat in his chair.

"Scanning object." Telatran One spoke. "Verified...crystal is authentic, data shows a sixty five percent purity ratio within the crystal matrix."

Wheeljack rubs his chin as he listens to the information, not even noticing Optimus Prime and Spike standing just behind him.

"I thought so..." He utters under his breath.

"I thought you were supposed to be designing the new ship for our return home." Optimus finally says to Wheeljack.

The robot spins around quickly and rises out of his seat to salute the leader. Startled by his presence, the scientist Autobot stumbles on his words from the surprise.

"Yes sir...I mean...no sir...I mean...."

"At ease Wheeljack, I'm curious about what you've discovered so far. The rubies...are they capable of producing energy?" The leader asks him.

Wheeljack relaxes again and takes the ruby out of the scanning port to show the leader.

"Actually Optimus...this is no ordinary crystal. This is pure Energon Crystal...well...maybe not pure...but still the same kind that our ancestors use to mine for themselves long ago."

"Impossible." Prime states in disbelief. "Raw Energon Crystals has long been mined out since the days of the Third Cybertronian war. Not to mention...only indigenous to our planet and other worlds around our system. You must be mistaken."

"I wish I were Optimus." Wheeljack sighs as he places the ruby back into the scanner. "But this is a form of Energon. Probably a mutated variety...but it still has the same energy matrix needed to power our systems without conversion."

Spike looks at the two robots with great confusion, he almost feels that he's being left out of the conversation and tries to join in.

"Are you saying that there's Cybertronian Energon Crystals here on Earth? That doesn't make any sense...does it?"

Wheeljack kneels down to him and explains. "I dunno. Quite frankly, I'm a bit puzzled by it myself. You see our ancestors always believed that Energon was the power core of our constructed planet, and that it was only used on our world and on those that were populated by other Transformers."

"But there are other myths Wheeljack." Prime interrupts. "I remember hearing about the first Cybertronians telling the younger generations of other worlds with Energon cores. That the universe was created by the first spark of life and that Energon was the result of it's beginning, thus creating new worlds out of the clusters of Crystal Energon and awaiting the time when all energy is formed back into the very spark from which it was dispersed from."

Wheeljack sits back in his chair and laughs at Prime's theory. "I've heard that far fetched myth too. I never really believed in all that nonsense...after all I'm a scientist, I deal in facts, not the ramblings of old robots fabricated stories that have no merit to their theories."

"Then how do explain that ruby crystal then Wheeljack?" Spike points out to him. "I think Prime might have the most logical explanation of how it got here."

"Nuts to that Spike." Wheeljack scoffs. "It's more likely that this was a meteor chunk or a comet that hit the Earth millions of years ago. Energon Crystals are generally green in color, that's the pure form they come in...this...I don't know what this is. It's similar in structure and in energy signature...but I highly doubt that it's the Energon Crystal we all know."

Optimus Prime folds his arms together and gives a look of a robot deep in thought. His glowing faint blue eyes dim down a shade and narrow themselves as he ponders this puzzling revelation.

"Another form of Energon? I wonder. Somehow I'm not so sure you're theory is all that better either Wheeljack."

"Well..." The white robot scientist pauses as he rubs his domed head. "Geology really isn't my specialty...that's more along the lines of Perceptor's field. It's too bad he's not rebuilt from the crash yet...I could use his input."

"That reminds me..." The leader says as Wheeljack add another thought to him. "How is the recovery of the others coming along? I know Ratchet has been busy with repairing the few that weren't on the bridge...."

Wheeljack sighs and leans back in his chair again looking tired. "They managed to borough through a few decks, so far we've recovered Blaster, Inferno, Red Alert and Steeljaw. The rest are really in need of repairs maybe even some new parts that we can't manufacture here. And we found something else blocking our drilling efforts..."

He stands up and walks over to a table that has a set of large bones laid out on top. He picks one up and shows it to both Prime and Spike, both eyeing them with interest.

"What are those?" Prime asks.

"Not sure" Wheeljack replies. "They might have once belonged to organic beings that were larger then the humans and other variety of life right now."

"Hey..." Spike realizes out loud. "Those might be the fossilized bones of dinosaurs."

"What are...dinosaurs Spike?" Optimus inquires.

"Dinosaurs were giant lizard-like creatures that roamed the Earth millions of years ago. They were wiped out by some big disaster long ago and might have been a link to our evolutionary chain...at least...that's what some scientists believe."

"Huh." Wheeljack utters in amazement. "I've got to admit they sound interesting. Maybe I'll research those beings a bit more from Telatran One's files..."

"Well if you really want to study them, why not go to the nearest museum and have a look at the exhibits." Spike smirks at him.

"I'd like too...but..." Wheeljack snickers. "I'm afraid I might be the wrong size to fit into such a place, if you get my meaning."

Spike laughs as he realizes that the white robot is correct. "Oh ya...I almost forgot. Boy hanging around with you guys so much I tend to forget you're not able to go where most humans do. My bad Wheeljack."

"No Problem, Spike." Wheeljack cheerfully replies.

Optimus Prime rubs one of the bones sitting on the massive table, the bones almost shape the body of a T-rex dinosaur and makes him curious about how they might have died.

"Millions of years ago huh? I hope we are not to blame for their destruction...I'd hate to think that our quest for energy resulted in their demise upon crashing on this planet."

"Hard to say Optimus...but then...if we didn't, we wouldn't have met Spike or any other human for that matter." Wheeljack says to the concerned leader.

Prime nods in agreement and looks down at Spike grinning at him. "Very true...fate it seems has thrust us together, those humans we call friends...and others...we've come to know as new enemies."

â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢

On the bridge of Archeville's submarine, the old man stands in front of an electronic see-through map of the Pacific Ocean and studies one area in the middle. His finger taps a large region that simply shows a deep canyon and the estimated depth numbers displayed beside it. The crew behind him continues to do their jobs, steering, communicating with the other two subs behind them and scanning the deep waters for any sign of the Decepticon debris.

"I don't understand." The old man grumbles. "The ship must have shattered to pieces during its impact with the surface water. The force of the impact alone should have crushed it's hull like a tin can...and yet...nothing. I just don't understand how this is possible."

Tapping the map one last time, the doctor wandered back to his command chair in the center and stood beside it deep in thought. Looking over to the female pilot, he raised his head and gave her a new order.

"Helm! Bring us down the canyon...all the way if need be. If the ship managed to delve this far...then we need to investigate the rate of speed it took to travel down here."

The black woman looked around at him and nodded. "Aye sir. Should I inform the other subs of our new course?"

"Yes Ms. Delmar, but instruct them to remain behind us in a single column. Just in case the bottom of this valley bottlenecks at the end."

"Aye Sir."

The specialized subs lowered down deeper into the dark waters, their shapes no longer visible to the naked eye, only a few lights along their hulls peer out of the darkness and give an eerie look as they descend. Suddenly, the black female notices a flashing icon on her right side display monitor. She studies the information as it warns her and she quickly turns around to Archeville with a delighted smile.

"Sir! Something has been detected ahead! Read outs show a Decepticon signature!"

The doctor sits in his chair grinning with pride. "Excellent! Well done helm...proceed to the coordinates and turn on the outer floodlights as soon as we reach the target."

Answering to his commands, the pilot eased the vessel down towards her sonar reading and turned on the outer camera as she simultaneously flicked on the high beams of the front running lights. Archeville perched himself on the edge of his seat as he activated a larger screen that sprung up from the floor and witnessed the lights piercing the darkness ahead of them. The deafening silence in the bridge gave an air of tension as the crew waited to see what lied in wait for them. The subs behind Archeville's ship also turned on their outer lights and helped to increase the illumination and give the Project N leader a better view of the area they were approaching. Sea creatures that live in the deep murky depths of that level scattered out of the vessel's way, it was like visiting another planet at the bottom of our own ocean as the various types of fish and predator would make any oceanographer jealous of the team's discovery. But Archeville wasn't interested in the life forms already inhabiting our own waters; it was only the Decepticons he craved. More importantly, he sought after the main prize he had wanted all along...Megatron.

"There!" He rose out of his chair in excitement. "There it is!!"

On the large viewer in front of him came the image of a massive sized Decepticon emblem, it was still in good condition and proudly displayed on the side of the huge ship's hull. The subs were still rather small compared to the sheer size to which the vessel was built, Cybertronians never seem to build anything small scale, but perhaps to them, this is economy sized as it gets. The doctor raised his fists in joy as he gave a cry of delight, a small jump up and down signaled his enthusiasm of the discovery and sight of it made the crew relax for the time being.

"What now sir?" The pilot asked him.

"Time for all things to come to those who wait." He replied in a cryptic manner. "Move us closer to its hull and prepare the boarding team. I will join them in the expedition and lead the mission."

A tanned looking gentleman came over to him and gave a voice of concern. "Sir, I strongly recommend you re-consider that. If anything should go wrong we might not be able to secure your safety."

"Calm yourself Lieutenant Becker." Archeville demanded. "These robots are deactivated from the crash. The speed and pressure alone would have surely switched off their systems like an electromagnetic pulse. That is why we took our time to lowering the subs deeper into the ocean depths, to allow their structures to ease into each level of pressure. Now stop your fussing and take command in my leave. Megatron...at long last...is mine!"

The old man cackles away like a lunatic and hurries down to meet with the boarding party. In a special airlock room, six crewmen suit up in special futuristic looking space suits and clasp their helmets on tight. The suits are obviously designed to shield them from the crushing pressure of the water's depth, oxygen tanks and special unmarked canisters attached to their backs are there to prevent them from being killed by the deadly level of the ocean. Archeville soon joins them as he steps through the door and seals up the inner room. He gabs one of the suits awaiting him and chuckles like a child on Christmas morning, as he cannot wait to step inside the silent alien craft.

"History gentlemen...history will be made!" He giggles to them as he finishes up putting on his pressure suit. "The greatest technology in the universe will be ours at long last...and not even those cursed Autobots will be able to stop me now!"

The sub finally attaches to the side of the Decepticon's ship and creates a vacuum seal around the area doorway where the boarding party will step out. The quick clanging of metal and the sound of the tight rubber seal forming around the hull, gives Archeville the signal to begin opening the large door in front of them all. With a simple nod to the two men waiting by the controls, they press a button on either side and the panel slides up slowly to reveal the Decepticon's ship hull before them. The next two officers step up to the wet metal and begin using a large laser cutting device that both have to hold up as it makes the slice. Making a circular path, the cutter manages to melt the metal with relative ease and soon creates a hole big enough for them to all to step through. With the final pass of the laser, the chunk of hot steel crashes down to the floor and the smoke from the hot metal fills the room their in. Archeville rubs his hands greedily and walks towards the entrance they just created. Peering in with his head, the doctor switches on his over head light that's built into the helmet and observes the inside of the giant vessel.

"This is what I have waited for all my life." The old man grins. "Destiny is mine at last...I, doctor Emmett Archeville, am now to become the greatest scientist in the history of mankind...and the next ruler of the world!"

As he takes his steps into the alien ship, he continues to laugh like a madman at his own evil intent, the rest of his men follow closely behind him and all are carrying large black weapons that are nearly the length of their arms. The echo of Archeville's laugh travels down the corridors of the ship and creates an almost frightening sound that would send chill down anyone's spine.


	3. Return Of The Decepticons

Chapter Three – Return Of The Decepticons

The darkness inside the Decepticon shuttle was spooky and made many of the men nervous as the carefully took each step as they walked behind Archeville. The old scientist wasn't afraid to lead the team in front; his powerful light on his helmet shone down the corridor and revealed nothing that would be considered frightening to him. In fact, the entire way was clear with no sign of the evil robots lying about. Noticing this fact, Archeville came to a stop and moved his headlight around to make sure he wasn't missing the obvious.

"Funny...they should be lying on the ground just as they were in the Ark." He mumbles to himself.

One of the six officers came up beside him and spoke with a nervous pitch. "Sh-sh-shouldn't we keep moving sir? I mean...what if...what if they have an automatic defense system that's still active. We might get killed by a random laser or something like that?"

"Don't be stupid boy." The doctor snaps back at him in a gruff voice. "It must be obvious that they were either on the bridge or the cargo bay when it went down. There's no defense system on this ship, they wouldn't have the energy or the parts to spare to create one. This vessel's sole purpose was to take them home with a large cargo. Now stop your idiotic questions and tell the others to keep moving towards the bridge."

"Yes Sir...uh...where is that by the way?" The confused man asked.

Archeville rolls his eyes and turns around to lead the way. "I should have come by myself. Follow me children...and do keep up."

As the old man continues to take lead, the others group up in a tight formation behind him. The echoing of their footsteps makes them all twitch around with their weapons poised and ready to fire on anything that moves. Turning down yet another dark corridor, the men all point their headlights down the way and notice the large Decepticon insignia on the door at the very end. Archeville gives a cheerful smirk and rubs his hands greedily.

"Ah...there it is. So much trouble the Autobots have caused me to get to this point...but their failure to prevent me from this defining moment was worth it. Without them to stop me this time...I will finally win. Megatron...and all his secrets within his brain...are now...MINE!"

Continuing to chortle at his scheming thoughts, he now walks proudly towards the door with absolute fearlessness. The guards behind him try to keep up the pace and seem surprised that this old man has such youthful vigor to out step the likes of them. But before they can even get half way to the large door, a sudden low growl sounds out towards them from the darkness behind. All of them stop dead in their tracks and turn around to see the direction of the noise.

"W-w-what the hell was that?" The middle soldier says in a trembling voice.

"Might be the ship..." The other solder says standing beside him. "Pressure could be slowly distorting the metal...or...or something like that."

Archeville looks into the darkness with his helmet light and peers with curious eyes.

"No...Metal wouldn't make that sound if it was being crushed. Maybe the subs are too close to the hull...scratching it even..."

He brings up his arm communicator that's built into the suit and taps a green button on its display.

"Sub Alpha One...this is Archeville. Report your status...over."

Outside in the dark, forbidding waters, the commander of Archeville's sub answers back as he sits in the old man's command chair.

"This is Alpha One, Sir. We're still attached to the side and Sub Beta Two is continuing to explore the forward section of the ship and Sub Omega Three is heading down to the stern of it. Why is there a problem? Over."

"Contact Beta Two and Omega Three and see if they are cruising too close to the ship's hull. We're picking up a noise down here and I want to be certain that they are not damaging the vessel." The old man's voice responds on the crackling speaker.

"Rodger that sir." The commander replies. "Helm, hail Beta and Omega, tell them to give Archeville a status report on his com-link."

Down near the front of the resting Decepticon ship, the second submarine glides smoothly over the top of the massive metal ship and keeps shifting it's lights as it scans everywhere around it. Through the communication link up they send their report directly to the doctor in response.

"This is Beta sir...we're well above the ship and not even near the hull." The deep male voice says to him.

In almost the same height and cruising speed, the third sub is also scanning with its lights and delivering the Project N leader the same sort of report.

"Omega here sir...we're not even touching the ship per your request. I don't know where you're getting the sound from." The female voice also informs him.

As Archeville gave a short sigh of relief for brief moment, the woman commander spoke again as she continued to speak to the old man.

"No...wait. I do see something...what...what the hell is that?"

"What do you see commander?" Archeville demanded.

"Oh...oh my god!" She screamed.

As the third sub continued to hover over the stern of the ship, a massive streak of green light struck through the human vessel and spliced it in half. The energy blast was so intense that it caused the entire submarine to implode into a huge round mess of fire, bubbles and crumpling metallic debris. The shock wave of the explosion rocked the Alpha sub out of it's lock on the ship and tore away from the side. The sirens inside of it were blaring all over as the crew scrambled to their stations to see what had happened. Archeville could hear the events echoing deep within the bowls of the Decepticon ship and screamed at his sub commanders.

"What is happening?! Alpha! Beta! Give me a report damnit!!"

Trying to stabilize itself from the quake, the beta sub turned around ninety degrees and started heading back towards the Alpha submarine.

"Sir, this is Beta...Omega no longer appears on our sonar...they've...they've been totally blown away by...oh...OH SHIT!"

Once again, another green streak of light rips into the second sub and punches a hole right through it. The blast hurls debris out into the murky depths and some human bodies can be seen coming out from the forcible blast. The commander is heard screaming over the airwaves and soon ends as the vessel explodes in a manner similar to the previous sub. Archeville's eyes grow wide with panic as he hears the sound of his men dying on his communicator. The guards standing beside him close their eyes in fear as they too are overcome by the deadly screams that soon become silent.

"This...this can't be happening...what...what is going on?" The old man stutters in shock. "Alpha...Alpha...report! REPORT DAMN YOU!!"

The last human submarine soon controls its chaotic spin and the crew regains their positions after being thrown around. The commander sits in his chair once again and looks on the monitors as they switch on. Each camera flicks on every angle around the sub as it tries to see their attackers and Lieutenant Becker keeps a vigil eye while trying to keep pressure on his bleeding forehead.

"This...this is Becker sir. I...I can't see anything. Beta and Omega are gone...the ship is on full alert...we're taking on water...."

Then the man's face goes completely pale and his eyes gaze at the screen in total shock.

"What? What is it Becker?!" Archeville is heard screaming over the speakers. "For the love of god man! What do you see?"

"Decepticons!" The man utters in a doomed voice.

As the sub gets a blast from the deadly green energy blast, a booming male-sounding robotic laugh can be heard as it strikes into the ship and sends it into a deadly fate as the other subs encountered.

"Welcome to your end...Humans!"

The team inside the Decepticon ship hears the voice just as the last submarine cuts out from communication and gives a terrified look at each other.

"Screw this man!" One of the younger soldiers utters loudly. "I didn't come all this way to die!"

The kid bolts down the dark corridor and drops his weapon.

"Get back here coward!!" Archeville shouts at him in anger.

As the young man disappears into the void, a sudden blood-curling scream from him echoes out as the sound of something sharp rips into him. The others back away slowly and aim their guns at the darkness.

"Jason? JASON!" The lead soldier shouts out in panic.

"This...this isn't possible...they...they can't be alive! They can't be alive...they can't...they can't...." Archeville utters over and over again.

The men fire their weapons furiously in fear, point in all directions, in every dark corner, they bombard the ship with their weapons powerful laser fire. As they continue to blast away, the entire ship lights up and soon the darkness inside becomes as bright as day. The men stop firing as the notice the ship is fully powered again and see their friend at the end of the corridor lying in a pool of blood.

"So humans..." Starscream's voice echoes through the air. "You thought you could come hear and try to steal our technology?"

His laughter booms though the corridor loudly as the thought strikes his mind.

"Fools! No one...but, NO ONE...dares to steal from a Decepticon! Now you must pay...."

Stepping out from one of the hidden passages at the end of the hallway, Starscream and Ravage reveal themselves to the frightened group huddled together at the opposite end.

"With your deaths!" The Decepticon commander finishes speaking.

Ravage growls, his eyes light up a beaming red glow and begins to charge towards them with his mouth wide open. Archeville snaps out of his scared stupor and takes charge of the terrified commandos.

"Just don't stand there like idiots! Open Fire!!"

The men scream out in anger as they obey his command and strike at the rushing black robotic cat with everything they've got. The damage was very effective as the energy shots manage to cripple the black cat as it gets flung back from the hits. Starscream shakes his fist in anger at the humans and aims both his arm cannons at the men.

"Bah! Ravage...you weakling! I'll do this myself! DIE HUMANS! DIE!!!"

Starscream's lasers strike all around the men and explode in large bursts of fire; they all dive for cover and try to hide behind the various struts along the corridor. They return fire at the Decepticon with equal force and try to protect Archeville as much as possible. The doctor himself hides behind one of the soldiers firing, but gazes back at the large door with the symbol on it.

"If I could just get into that room...he'll be all mine...then they'd have to obey my will alone!"

The soldier looks over his shoulder at Archeville and gives him a curious glance.

"Are you nuts, doc?! I think it's pretty obvious they're not dead!"

"Megatron is mine...he's mine...I'm so close...I...I can't stop now!!" The madman howls in a crazed tone.

As Starscream continues to fire, Soundwave, Rumble and even Thundercracker run up to aid in the commander's attack against the few remaining humans. One by one the team beings to dwindle down, some loosing limbs, some burn to death and the last one trying to protect Archeville gets his head sliced off as Soundwave takes out a large dual blade shaped like a round disc and thrusts it right into the metal strut the man was trying to stay protected behind. With no one left to protect Archeville, the old man takes the weapon of his dead soldier's hand and aims it at the group of Decepticons closing in on him.

"I won't be denied! I'm destined to be the ruler of the world! Do you hear me? Nothing can stop me now...not even you!"

He fires the gun rapidly at the evil robotic group and laughs in full insanity, tears stream down his cheeks as he loses his mind from the onslaught of death around him, it was now apparent that Archeville was no longer in his right mind. The Decepticons shielded themselves from his volley of weapon fire, but Starscream stood his ground and opened up his right side arm panel. A group of rockets rolled out from under it and he took aim at the pathetic doctor trying to strike them down.

"I've had enough of this...."

Only launching one rocket from his arm, it blasted down the hallway and straight for the old man. Stopping in wild shooting, Archeville saw the bomb heading his way and gave his last word.

"Damn."

The rocket struck just in front of him and caused him to be blown back at the door he had so wanted to get into. The blast had torn off his arm burned his body and now lay bleeding to death on the ground just at the base of the door. Starscream walked over and held his gun down to the dying man's head and smirked at him.

"Proud of yourself little man? Time to put this animal out of its misery."

Suddenly the large door opened and Megatron, the tall, silver-polished leader stood there with his arm cannon pointed at the air commander's head.

"STARSCREAM! I told you that this one was to be unharmed!"

The jet commander gulped as he came face to face with the leader's massive black cannon.

"I...I wasn't really going to kill him Megatron...honest. I was just waiting for you to enter this very moment...heh-heh-heh!"

Megatron's red eyes flashed in anger and pushed his cannon even further at the cowering Decepticon.

"You fool. I need him alive and fully functional for questioning...now look what you've done! I warn you Starscream...and this will be the only time...if he so much as dies within the next few moments...you die with him!"

"NO, PLEASE MEGATRON!" Starscreams begs. "I'll fix him...I'll repair his wounds!"

"You'd better Starscream!" Megatron barks at him. "And be quick to learn how...This creature is losing vital fluids as we speak, if he isn't tended to quickly then his frail brain will cease to function!"

Starscream nods at the evil leader and reaches down to pick Archeville up. As the badly broken and dying old man is raised up to eye level with Megatron, the leader gazes down at him and smiles.

"Welcome to our home...Doctor Archeville."

The evil robot laughs hysterically as the old man stares at him with blood shot eyes and a fractured skull. It is the last image he sees of the Decepticon as he soon blacks out in to a coma.


	4. The Man Behind The Secret

Chapter Four – The Man Behind The Secret

As the Archeville tries to awaken, he has moments where he opens his eyes and sees Starscream studying him with a massive electronic microscope. The old man feels strange, as if his body has lost all of its senses, he can't feel the coldness of the table or even smell the air he must be inhaling. The only sense he does have is his hearing. He can faintly hear the moans and painful woes of human voices in the room. Perhaps he wasn't the only prisoner of the Deceptions; perhaps more of his crew was spared he thought. But why would they be in such pain? Just what was this Deception doing to them all? His eyes slowly closed again as the jet commander looked down at him and pressed a button just out of his eye range.

"Now, now Doctor...we must get our rest. It will be a busy day for you...especially during your interrogation." The evil Decepticon chuckled.

As Starscream touched the button, Archeville's eyes closed into darkness again, sending him back into a deep sleep. The only thing running through the poor man's mind at the time was, 'Dear god...what is he doing to me?' As his mind drifted into comatose state again, he began to envision the most pivotal time of his life. He saw himself as a young man being recruited into the Nazi youth core and becoming known as the wiz kid for his inventive creations. He helped to forge new rocket propulsion, new biological agents, and even helped a group of German scientists work on the nuclear fusion formula. Hitler had thrusted the young Archeville to the top ranks of his army and even made him one of his personal advisors that he kept with him at all times. In flashback memory he could recall many moments of frustration with the dictator. They would quarrel about fuel reserves and placement of soldiers around the world. Hitler's idea of ruling the world was becoming Archeville's ambition, but when it came to instructing the easily aggressive leader with his thoughts, it was hard to get him to focus on how to achieve this task without having one his usual temper tantrums about doing things his way. Archeville was sick of losing because of Hitler's madness, so while Berlin was getting bombed from above and the rest of them buried deep below in a bunker, Archeville decided that it was time to put an end to this losing war. Picking up his Lugar, he shot anyone that blocked his way towards Hitler's main room; he barged in on the dictator and his mistress Eva Braun and wasted no time with killing the both of them.

"I'll take this world for my own...no matter how long it takes." He said to the dead leader's face staring back up at him.

He remembers the U.S. soldiers picking him up soon after and taking him to a detention camp where they questioned him for hours upon hours. The top military brass had known of his work for sometime and clearly didn't want to kill him, in fact he wasn't surprised at all that they brought him back to the United States and placed him in a secret base where he could continue his scientific work. He remembers giving the Americans advice on how to perfect the nuclear bomb and a possible engine design for new planes that could "jet" across the sky in half the time. The war was over, but he was forgotten, the military had burned any knowledge about him and even went as far as to even remove his fingerprints. Now he was their special scientist that could give them everything they'd hope for. Archeville had always found it amusing that while they tried to use him, he in turn was using all of them to get to his ambition. Sitting in a comfortable cell in a military base was his closing memory; his dream like flashback soon began to melt away as he started to feel consciousness coming back again. The days of his youth made him smile, it seemed so long ago to the old man, but the dream of someday ruling the world was a life long ambition that never truly died.

"Where...where am I?" He starts to speak in a raspy voice as he opens his eyes again.

"Ahhh...you're awake at long last Doctor." The smug sounding voice of Megatron echoes from the darkness.

The entire room seems eerily dark; a lone spotlight is shining down on Archeville as he tires to move. His arms and legs feel pinned down as he realizes he's sitting in some sort of chair and fully restrained. He also notices a very odd feeling about himself, something isn't quite right about his arm or his head, a sudden wave of dread fills his eyes as he remembers Starscream previously hovering over him doing god knows what to body. Again he begins struggling to bring his arm up and starts whimpering like a frightened child.

"What...what have you done to me?!" He cries out as he continues to struggle free.

"Patience Archeville..." Megatron's voice says coyly. "If you need to have a look at Starscreams fine handy work...then all you had to do is ask for a reflective surface to see."

A giant, well-polished flat piece of metal drops down in front of the man and now he can clearly see what horrors have been done to him. Gazing into the mirror like metal, the Doctor gasps at what he sees. The top of his head is now covered in some sort of metal with a pair of small white blinking lights sticking out like a pair of small horns. On the front of the metal skullcap is the Decepticon logo and a few smaller built in red and green LED lights that seem to turn on and off every time his eyes move. Looking at his right arm, he now sees that it too is completely made of metal. A robotic prosthetic arm that looks like it goes right up to his shoulder blade. The hand is claw like in appearance and has more of those red and green lights running up and down the arm. Every time he moves it he can hear the gears turning and the hydraulics pumping as he tires to flex. The man totally breaks down and begins sobbing at the terrible thing he has now become.

"That's gratitude for you." Starscream's voice now speaks from the dark as well. "You could at least say 'thank you' for saving your life."

"I'm a Freak!" Archeville screams. "A monstrosity! You should have killed me rather then leave me to look like this!"

Megatron now steps out of the shadows and stands into some of the light reflecting off of the floor. But this was not a floor Archeville was on; it was a small table that had a chair placed in the center of it. Only the upper half of Megatron could be seen as the rest of him was obscured by the where the tables end stopped. Folding his arms over and smirking, Megatron's eyes glowed in the soft light like a demon.

"Perhaps I can arrange that afterwards Doctor...but for right now...I need you alive. Your tiny organic brain has information that I want...can you take a guess at what I mean?"

"The Autobots? I'll tell you everything I know about them..." He says with some nervous giggling.

Megatron's face instantly scowls at him and thrusts his fist on the table causing it to quake from his forceful blow. Archeville screams in agony as the tremor and echo of it snap the man violently.

"Don't play games with me human!!" Megatron barks. "You know what I'm talking about! Project N...tell me everything about that secret of yours or I'll let Starscream take you and use you for his personal test subject!"

Archeville's eyes tremble in a fear they've never known, he remembers hearing the sounds of other humans groaning and crying out while he was being worked on by the Decepticon jet commander. It must have been whatever survivors were left of his sub crew, those that not been killed by the crushing depth of the ocean and of the wounded soldiers of his boarding party. These evil robots have a cruelty that would send a shiver down any beings spine, worst then anything he's ever done during his time as a Nazi soldier.

"Project N?" Archeville says with a frightened curiosity. "You...you know its name?"

Megatron chortles lightly and grins again. "Soundwave is very skilled in resurrecting information...especially when he has the data tracks of that of Telatran One. Every electronic file or data from around this planet is now at our fingertips. That Project N of yours is more widely known then you think."

Leaning into the table and bringing his face closer to the terrified man, Megatron squints his red eyes at him and brings his tone into a more serious nature.

"That cannon you used to shoot at us...it must be part of it somehow. The technology is well beyond your limited intelligence to produce, so you must have incorporated with your own useless junk. Confess its secret to me human...and maybe I'll be gracious enough to let you live."

Archeville was scared of the Decepticon leader, as he looked deep into those pulsating red eyes of his.

"And...and what of my crew? Will you let them live if I tell you?"

"There's no point in worrying about them..." Starscream chuckles as he now steps into some visible light as well. "It took all of their lives to save yours, Doctor. Where do you think I got most of the extra parts from?"

As the jet commander laughs at that fact, Archeville nearly became sick from the thought of his crew being diced and having their parts inside of him.

"My God..." He said in disgust.

"Come now Doctor." Megatron smiled. "I would have thought a man like you would have been used to seeing death is such a manner?"

"What...what do you mean by that?" Archeville gauntly stated.

"We managed to uncover your detailed history...you and a group of warriors called Nazis almost had this planet in the palm of your hands. Had it not been the failing of but one man, Earth would now be yours. It could still be yours...if you cooperate." Megatron smirks at him.

Peaking his interest, Archeville's mind once again focuses on his one hunger that Megatron has now dangled in front of him.

"You would help me? To take over this planet..." Archeville begins to grin in his madness again, but suddenly his grin dies down as he thinks of the consequences. "But...what would I have to give back in return? Something tells me there is a price to pay for this union."

Starscream leans in this time and tempts him further. "What does it matter what the price will be? Think of it Doctor...you would be the sole ruler of this miserable planet! The human race would be yours to command...just as you've always dreamed of."

Megatron stokes his chin as he awaits Archeville's reply. He can see the man is working the scenario in his head and now returning to that twisted evil smile of his.

"Well...what shall it be Doctor Archeville? Kill you now or help you take this world for your very own?" Megatron asked of him.

Raising his head up and giving a more relaxed look in his eyes, the old man stared at the silver metal being and calmly gave his answer.

"I can't tell you what Project N is...but if your offer to help me is genuine...then I'll gladly show you where it is."

Megatron and Starscream smile at one another as they see their temptation worked on him.

"Very good Doctor...very good. With the Deceptions help...you shall rule this world." The evil robot leader smiles as he gives a simple giggle at the man caving to his will.

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Walking into the Autobot Ark, Optimus Prime and Spike continue to talk as they venture down the long corridor as they head for the medical bay level.

"I hope you get permission soon Prime. The U.N. is taking forever to reach a decision to let you go to Area 51 and expose Archeville's private army." Spike says as he breathes heavily trying to keep pace with Optimus Prime's long steps.

"Indeed Spike. You humans seem to have a knack for having lengthy discussions and arguments about taking any sort of action."

Spike smirks as he looks up at the leader and breathes out in disappointment.

"Yeah...sucks to be human sometimes. We should be more like the Autobots...give all the facts and do what's right. Seems to be the best way anyone should decide. Still...never know what might trigger something next without letting everyone share their views and fears."

"Fear should never hold anyone back from doing what's right, Spike." Optimus says as he stops mid-way and looks down at him. "Archeville is a danger to both your people and mine...the sooner he is brought to justice to pay for his crimes, the better we will all be. No offense Spike...but I want to go home and finish this Cybertronian war once and for all. If that means going in to grab him without your government's permission, then so be it. I want to live in peace on my own planet...and never again have to worry about who may or may not be trying to destroy the universe."

"Sounds like a plan. Anyone back home worth sharing the moment with once it's all over?"

Prime gives a somber sigh and continues to walk down the corridor.

"There was someone...but Megatron even managed to take her away from me too."

Spike didn't bother to ask Prime anything about it; the melancholy response he gave was a clear indication that he had lost that special someone in his life. It reminded him about the time he lost his mother, he felt as if the whole world had been destroyed and now his life was empty. No doubt his dad had the same feelings or worst. One day Spike will have to make up for the time he spent apart from his father, the rift between them since her passing has made the men lose too many years together. If it hadn't been for these 'Transformers' showing up when they did, chances are that both of them would still be emotionally apart from one another. Instead of telling Optimus of how sorry he was to hear of the loss...he simply kept up with the pace of the metal being's stride and kept him company.

Just before they reach the main command center, Prime turns to a secondary door adjacent to it. The dual sliding doors open and shows the large room that occupies Ratchets repair bay for the Autobots. Spike and Prime enter inside as the doors quickly close behind them. Ratchet can be seen attaching a limb to an Autobot with white and red markings.

"Well Ratchet? Is this group repaired yet?" Prime asks.

"Just about Optimus..." The medical Autobot replies and then looks at his patient. "Easy does it Red Alert...just a few clicks...and...there we go."

The arm snaps on and gears can be heard guiding it into place. Red Alert sits up on the metal table and jars his fixed arm around.

"Good as new! Thanks Ratchet."

"Next time just relax...You shouldn't be moving about when Telatran One is trying to reset your transformation cog."

The red and white robot gets off the repair table and gives Ratchet a worried look.

"I...I know...I was just...I don't like having to change my transformation. I got nervous I guess."

Laughing out loud at the other side of the room, stood Inferno, Steeljaw and Blaster. Inferno, a large deep red robot with white attachments on his hand and a ladder on the back of him, gave anyone the notion that he might be part of a firefighter crew. Spike could make out the fire department symbols on his cab-like body frame and some of the gear he had attached to him looked to be part of what anyone would see on a fire truck.

"Nervous?!" The southern sounding fire truck Autobot laughed. "Shoot, Red Alert...you whipped around so much your darn arm came swingin' off!"

"I couldn't help it Inferno!" The red and white robot shouted in panic. "I wasn't sure it was safe! Who knows how bad Telatran One was damaged...it could have turned me into something...un-natural."

"D'oooh go on now...you know T-1 wouldn't do that. Besides they fixed the computer a long time ago. Ain't that right Ratchet?"

Ratchet nods and begins wiping down the table.

"That's right...Wheeljack patched it as good as he could."

Red Alert stared at the medical Autobot blankly. "As good as he could?? Why does that make me even more nervous?"

Prime walked up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Take our word for it Red Alert...you're fine. Just because you're in new form doesn't mean you've changed inside. Judging from your usual personality...I can safely say that much is certain."

The robot gave the leader a smile and nodded with satisfaction. Inferno shook his head at his friend, he found it hard to believe that this was the robot in charge of any crisis operation; he's full of paranoid thoughts and a constant worrier. Still, in those moments of dire crisis, he is calm, collected and knows how to organize the rescue team to their full potential.

"Yeah Red, just chill out and go with the flow." Blaster now adds.

The colorful orange, red and yellow robot stands tall next to Inferno, his chest is almost like Soundwave's in that it too has a plate that could open up to storage Mini-disk transformers as well. The polished chrome details in his face and the smirk on his face give him the look of a robot that has an ego to match it.

"Good to see you once again Blaster." Prime says as he acknowledges his presence in the room. "I trust your happy with the new form Telatran One has assigned to you."

"Its all that Prime! Check me out...I'm the ultra cool, hizzle fa-shizzle that's gonna totally bam out the 'cons with my def noise man!" Blaster squeals out in joy as he models himself.

Prime blankly stares at the weird speaking Autobot, "Are your logic chips functioning? What in the world are you going on about?"

"Oh...uh..." Blaster stammers. "Sorry Prime...guess T-1 loaded me up with human lingo and current music trends. Just trying to tell you I'm...uh...fine with the new look."

"Next time...just give me the non-human expressive answers. Your still a soldier so give me answers like one...save the rest of that nonsense for those that know how to translate it."

Blaster notices Prime giving a faint wink and giggles at his reaction. He raises his hand up in salute and gives him the proper reply he expects.

"Yes Sir, Optimus Sir!"

Steeljaw comes up to Spike and eyes him carefully. The golden looking transformer is almost designed like a lion, its mane is razored like a spiked blade on top and his fangs jut out like a saber-toothed tiger. The low growling noise nearly startles Spike as he looks at the golden cat creature circling around him and touching him every now and then with his claw-like paws.

"H-h-hey there...n-n-nice kitty..." Spike nervously says to it.

"Oh don't mind Steeljaw there..." Blaster says as he walks over to pet the golden cat. "He's just curious about your species. I must admit...you humans are a fragile bunch. But I dig your music and culture, much more colorful then any other I've ever seen."

"Thanks...I think." Spike blinks unsure about how to take that.

Steeljaw wags his metallic cat-like tail as Blaster pats him on the back and opens up his chest plate.

"Ok Steeljaw, time to flip back and take some z's"

The cat gives a low growl and transforms into a gold version of a Mini-disk, which then slides into Blaster's open chest and closes up as soon as it sits inside. Spike watches in amazement as the sound and look of them transforming never ceases to amaze him.

"Blaster, I want you, Red Alert and Inferno to report to Jazz for a debriefing..." Prime soon speaks to him with authority. "I want all of you to be up to speed on what's been happening in the last four months and of the humans who have been trying to prevent our launch for home."

Blaster scratches his dome-like head. "Preventing? Man who'd prevent us from doing anything?! We're far more advance then them Prime..."

Optimus interrupts the communications officer and raises his hand. "Just...go and listen to Jazz will you? As I said, he'll fill you in on what's been going on. There are complicated matters stirring about this so just be patient and listen."

Red Alert salutes the leader and nods. "Don't worry Optimus Prime, we'll be sure to get all the facts and report back to you as soon as possible."

"And one more thing..." Prime adds. "There is to be no wandering off of this base while we are here, we maybe good friends with many of the humans for now, but all that could change with some of them after our new mission. Jazz will tell you what you need to know, how to proceed and so on. Don't take any of this likely....I want you all to remember that this is the human's planet and not ours. Our next objective after the Earth mission will be to return to Cybertron, to build a shuttle and blast for home...to whatever awaits us there."

Blaster rubs his chin in thought and looks down at Spike.

"Sounds serious, bub. This Earth mission...whatever it is must be very dangerous if Prime is concerned."

"You have no idea Blaster...you just have no idea."


	5. Prime Directive

Chapter Five – Prime Directive

A few hours later, Optimus Prime, Spike and a few other Autobot members stand around the large monitor inside the central control room as they listen to the report of a familiar female human friend.

"So what's the verdict Carly?" Prime says as he folds his arms. "Will your world governments support our strike against Archeville and his secret base?"

The huge face of the beautiful blonde woman stares back at them all and gives a sigh of regret.

"They have no answer Prime. None are willing to make a move without some sort of official army presence there. The only problem is…which of their armies to send in. The United States is firm on handling this as an 'internal problem'…but other countries feel they need to send in their own just to make sure. It's a mess here in the U.N. Optimus, I'm trying my best to settle this all."

Prime unfolds his arms and gives her a nod of reassurance. "You're the best one we could send as our diplomat Carly. I know this isn't what you had in mind when you agreed to join the Autobots as a liaison…but I feel you are the most qualified to do this task on our behalf."

"Hang in there, Carly." Spike says with a smile. "I believe in you…"

Carly smiles as she sees Spike again, "Thank you Spike. It's good to see you're doing well after all this time. Hopefully when all this is settled you and I can have that date we've been putting off. Don't think I haven't forgotten about that, Mr. Witwicky."

Spike nearly blushes after hearing her admit that for all the others to hear. Bumblebee happened to be standing next to him as she uttered that and started to mimic a 'kissy face' at the embarrassed young man. Spike cleared his throat as he tried to change the subject.

"So…ah…Do we get permission to storm the place or not Carly?"

The woman sighed and shook her head. "No. The answer is no. Even though I brought Mirage with me to explain why the Autobots had to do this so soon…it just didn't do the trick. Sorry Prime."

"I see." The large leader breathed out as he lowered his eyes. "So they're reluctant to do anything and let this madman get away unpunished."

"I wish things had gone as you'd hope Optimus. I really do. You know…after listening to all these politicians and nation leaders…it makes me wish that you were the one in charge of the planet." Carly said to him with of pride. "I trust your leadership more then any here I've met so far."

Prime walked over to the screen and looked up at the large face of Carly staring back.

"Kind of you to say Carly. But this is your planet and not mine. Your governments are going to have to come together soon or there will be no peace found. Trust me…the last thing you want to see is a dead planet hanging in space with only hate standing between you and all that you value most in life."

Carly sighed again and fluttered her eyes at the leader. "Still…it would have been nice to have a leader like you. Too bad you're not human. Anyways, I should be getting back to the meeting. Mirage has been showing off his disappearing trick to the council and I think all the attention is getting to his ego."

Cliffjumper standing in the small crowd behind Prime snickered at the thought. "What a show off. I think that blast from Megatron sent a power surge to that thick head of his."

Carly laughed at the comment and gave a last smile to them all. "Probably Cliffjumper…probably. Anyways, take care for now guys. Sorry to give the bad news, but whatever you decide you get my full support. Bye Spike! Carly out."

As the image of her cut out and the monitor switched off, Optimus Prime stood there in silence as he stroked his manifold deep in thought. Bumblebee once again mocked Spike as he lowered himself down to the human's head level and teased him of Carly's last words.

"Bye Spike! Kiss Kiss! Awwww…are we someone's special man?"

"Knock it off bolt brain!" Spike grumbled at him and shoved his face away. "We're…just good friends for now. You know…friends."

Jazz came up behind him and joined in on the playful mocking.

"Oooh…friends. Friends that like to go out and eat dates…hmmm?"

Spike turned around and corrected his misinterpretation of what she meant.

"Not dates that you eat. A date…a…time for two people to go out and have fun. With dinner…and…and a movie…maybe."

Bumblebee giggled again, "And maybe more…right? Hm? Huh? Ooooh yeah, Spike and Carly gonna get it on!"

"Oh shut up B-man…" Spike bemoans in irritation. "What do you guys know about courtship anyways? You're robots…it's not like you could love someone."

"That's where you're wrong Spike." Prime suddenly speaks as he hears the conversation.

Walking over to him and looking down at the small human, Optimus lowers his eyes at him and gives a serious gaze.

"Love is at the very core of our being. We Cybertronians are not beyond such emotions you know…many of us, at one time or another, had special relationships with our female counterparts. Many died before we could even get the chance to bond with them one last time."

Spike could see that the leader was thinking of that very someone he was talking about and quickly softened his tone as he realised it hurt the leader to hear his harsh comment.

"Sorry Prime. I…I didn't know there was any female transforming robots. I didn't even know you guys could…you know…have those types of relationships."

Blaster standing at the back of the room soon raised his voice so that Spike and the others could hear what he had to say.

"We're more complicated then you think Spike my man. You see…we aren't what you might call a 'sterile' race of beings. Heck, if we were just as bland as the 'cons…man our planet would have died out a long before we even stepped off the assembly line!"

Spike gave some thought to Blaster's comments and looked back up at Optimus still looking down at him.

"Hmm. I guess love really does conquer all…even in emotional robotic beings such as yourselves. It must be the one truth that binds the universe as a whole."

"Love is a word Spike." Prime now says with wisdom. "It's the emotion or feeling if you will that gives us the strength and the reason for existing at all. Our spark began with that feeling…it's what fuels us all to aspire to something more then what we are."

Spike smirks and gives a simple phrase. "Love is all you need."

The leader raises his head and looks at all of the Autobots standing around him.

"Well…enough of this deep discussion. The time to act is now."

Huffer and Hound look at one another with a curious look.

"Act? Uh…Prime…didn't you hear Carly?" Huffer points out.

"Yeah. You heard what she said, the humans won't allow us to storm the base." Hound adds.

Prime breathes in and flashes his eyes. "The humans might have said no…and by all rights we shouldn't interfere. But we don't have the luxury to sit around for days, months or even years to wait for their collective agreement to proceed. Cybertron needs us home…I will not and cannot allow this corrupt human to keep us pegged down on this planet for his own amusement."

Hound shakes his head in disagreement, "I dunno bout this Optimus. If we go charging in there…well…well we might just lose the trust the humans have given us so freely. There must be another way."

"We've got to my friend." Prime says to him. "I know it goes against what I've preached to you all while we are here…but I'm tired of being bullied around by people with agendas. Megatron, Archeville…who or what will be next? No. This has got to stop…"

"Hound has a point, Prime." Spike speaks up. "If you do this…some of my people might pull out of the treaty you signed with them. They may see this unauthorized attack as a prelude to war…maybe even think of you as no better then the Decepticons."

Blaster snickers at the limited choices they have. "Man…do nothing and we're as good as permanent residence on this rock. Do something and we risk alienating an entire planet that welcomed us with open arms. Looks like I awoke in the wrong place and in the wrong time."

Prime turned away from them and looked at his fist in frustration. "So…this is what the vision was talking to me about. I would have to choose between worlds. So little options…if only there was one clear answer before me."

Cliffjumper's eye rose as he heard the leader mumble, "Uh…what the heck are you talking about? What vision?"

Prime snapped out of his train of thought and spun around to explain.

"When I was damaged after Sherman Dam…I had…a…a vision. As if the Matrix was telling me of something…some unforeseen danger."

"Like what?" Huffer demanded to know.

Optimus looked at him and shook his head. "I…I don't know. Whatever the vision was about…it was clear that I had both worlds to worry about now. Almost like our destinies where connected and that the fate of both worlds now lies with us…or with me. I just don't know how to interpret it."

Spike rubs his chin as he listens and gives his thought.

"Maybe this is about Project N? Maybe whatever secrets Archeville is hiding will end up harming this world and yours in some manner? If that's the case…then perhaps you're right to charge in there and stop him before it gets out of hand."

Prime gives a delighted look at Spike as he shares in the concern. "Exactly. We saw the types of weapons that man built, Primus only knows what's in store for us all next. I think he's held on to those secrets long enough…time to show the world what he's been up too and put that project out of commission for good."

"All right!" Blaster screams. "I've been itching to do some major ass kickin'...let's saddle up the posse and slam on the tunes for battle! Yeow!"

Huffer shakes his head at Blaster as he turns on his radio receiver and begins dancing to the Earth style hip-hop music.

"I think the first thing we should do is bury his sorry butt back in that chunk of rock we sprang him from."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Meanwhile, deep within the ocean inside the Decepticon's ship, Megatron walks through one of the many corridors and soon has Starscream joining him from behind.

"I want to talk to you Megatron!" Starscream shouts in his irritating whiney voice.

Megatron sighs at the sound of the air commander and never stops in his walking pace.

"What is it now? Not enough light in your lab? No comfortable seating for that pompous posterior of yours?"

"Archeville." Starscream utters as he finally catches up with him. "I don't trust that human."

"Is that all you're concerned with? BAH! Don't waste my time with such insignificant matters!"

Starscream quickly steps in front of the Decepticon leader and manages to stop him in his tracks. The grey jet transformer lowers his red glowing eyes at Megatron and holds his hand against the leader's silvery chest.

"We should kill this human, why are you keeping him alive? Why not just use Soundwave to draw out the memories from this creature and toss him out of an airlock?"

Megatron looks down at the commander's hand in anger and looks back up at him as if to stay 'get that hand off of me'. Starscream could read that thought in his eyes and quickly drew his hand away with a smirk.

"There is much that Soundwave couldn't get out of this tiny human's brain." Megatron growls at him. "I intend to use this creature as a means of locating this Project N he seems so hell-bent on protecting. If we drain his memories too fast, he may keel over before he gives us the location or give us other useless memories that serve no purpose to our goals."

Starscream scowled at his answer. "You're keeping this fleshling?! I thought you'd rather stamp out inferior life forms rather then taking advice from them! You've changed Megatron…you've become soft some how, a sign of weakness in leadership."

"Careful Starscream!" The leader snaps at the brash officer. "Be very careful of what you say next! If I were you…I'd not dwell on the matter any further! I don't need to explain my every thought to the likes of you or anyone else on this ship for that matter. Just do as you are told and obey my orders without question!"

Leaning in to his face and staring him down, the silver polished leader pointed at Starscream's chest this time and tapped him forcefully.

"Never forget that I am the leader, Starscream. I am! Not you. So continue to challenge my authority and I will have you tossed out the air lock and make that human your replacement."

The air commander trembled at the raised voice of his superior and gave a nervous laugh that trailed off as he tried to back away from him.

"I…I didn't mean it like that Mighty Megatron. I…I just don't trust the human is all I'm saying. That's all."

Megatron eases down from his anger and folds his arms as he stares at the cowering Decepticon.

"I don't trust this human either. I don't trust any of these weak flesh creatures…but for now, I shall give him the luxury of thinking he is worth something to me. I want to discover what this Project N is and anything else Archeville is hiding from us. The technology is not of their own design and I want to know why and how they got their scheming little hands on it. Once we have the secrets of this project…the Doctor will more then likely out live his usefulness to me. Then Starscream…then you may do with him what you will. Is that satisfactory?"

Bowing to the leader and giving a delighted chuckle, Starscream agrees with his plans.

"Very much Megatron. That's all I needed to hear."

Unimpressed with the jet commander, Megatron pushes him out of his path and continues to walk down the corridor to a door sliding open as he approaches. Turning back to look at Starscream one last time, the Decepticon commander tapped his fingers on the side of the archway and scowled.

"One more thing Starscream. Have the Constructicons report to me in one hour…I have a few tasks for them to perform. Now go and keep an eye on our…guest. See to it that he gets new clothes to wear…these humans seem to have humility when it comes to their naked forms. Now go do it…and never bother me with this trivial concern again!"

Megatron steps through the door and shuts back loudly. Starscream lowers his eyes and clutches his fist in anger.

"Just you wait and see Megatron. I'll be leader in no time at all…and then we'll see who gets thrown out of an air lock on that day!"

Starscream slowly starts to giggle and then continues to burst into laughing as he thinks of that fateful day of when he will rise to command the Decepticons and becoming the ruler of Cybertron.


	6. Observations And Attitudes

Chapter Six – Observations And Attitudes

"What do you mean I'm staying behind!!"

Cliffjumper was enraged at the Autobot leader telling him that. The two stood outside the entrance of the Ark and continued to argue about Prime's decision.

"I think it's best that we have at least some of our warriors protecting the ship!" Optimus Prime replied. "Besides, your little stunt earlier was reason enough to hold you back. You're out of control, Cliffjumper…you need to contain that trigger happy attitude of yours before someone gets hurt or even worst…killed!"

As Spike walks out to where they are, he watches Cliffjumper fold his arms together in anger and turning around to look away from the massive leader.

"I'm going with you and that's all there is to say about that!"

"I beg your pardon, Soldier? Stand at attention and face me when I'm talking to you!" The infuriated leader said as he raised his voice.

Cliffjumper slowly spun around and mockingly saluted Prime as he straightened himself. Spike shook his head as he watched the mini robot; he knew that was only adding to the fire to Optimus's rage right now.

"Cliffjumper…I've just about had enough of you and these foolish antics." Optimus growled. "Consider yourself off duty…permanently! From here on out…you shall no longer be allowed to leave this base, to use a weapon of any kind while on this planet, and the moment we return home to Cybertron…you shall be stripped of your rank and put on file clerk duty in the Autobot data file archives!"

The small red bodied and chrome-faced robot looked up with his wide blue eyes in astonishment. The open mouth he gave was that of disbelief, to be out of battle commission was unheard and to be placed as a simple file clerk was even worst.

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!" He hollered.

"It's done." Prime stated. "Defying orders and going AWOL from missions is a direct result of my decision. Leaving to battle Decepticons at the Burma Mine and nearly getting Spike's father killed in the process is no way for any Autobot to act. Now you once again question my orders and give me no choice but to finally put an end to your chaotic behavior."

Spike says nothing as the two become aware of his presence and simply gives a glance at Cliffjumper who still can't believe he's been punished.

"Now then…" Prime adds. "Will you do as your instructed? Or will I have to have Prowl place you into confinement in a security room?"

The small transformer lowers his head in shame.

"That won't be necessary…I'll…I'll do as you say."

Optimus's anger subsides and his eyes soon give way to a more sympathetic nature.

"I really didn't want it to be this way Cliffjumper. But I just can't let you go on in this destructive manner anymore, it's time you grew out of that mentality of yours. You need to start thinking about others and less about yourself. Dismissed."

The sad mini Autobot turned back into the ship and slowly walked back inside. His head still hung low in shame as the disgrace of it all broke his heart. Spike watched the sorrowful robot slink away inside and looked back at the leader.

"Are you really going to make him a file clerk back home? I mean…I know he's a bit wild at times, but will kicking him out of the ranks really help?"

"Spike…" Prime sighed. "It's hard enough trying to keep the others in line and making sure that no one does anything to place lives in danger. Cliffjumper simply has to learn to control himself or else someone will pay for his mistakes. As for him becoming a file clerk…well…we'll see. The war back home might still be raging on and I'll probably need all the warriors I have with me."

Spike smirked as he saw the gruff leader melt back into his old relaxed self. Together they shared a cheerful gaze and nodded to each other as to show an understanding. Turning to walk back into the Autobot ship, Spike soon caught a glimpse of Trailbreaker riding up the road and heading straight for them. The Autobot began to slow down as he came close and stopped right beside the human friend.

"Hey there, Spike!" Trailbreaker says to him in truck form. "I was on my way through the city and I just happened to pick up a familiar hitchhiker…seems the doctors kicked him out!"

His side door opens and out steps his father, Sparkplug. The man seems healed from his wounds after the Burma Mine incident and shows his son a great big smile as he closes the door after getting out.

"Hi Son!"

"Dad!"

The young man runs over to him and gives him a huge hug. Naturally the father grunts a bit from his still slightly busied body, but gives his child an equally welcome hug in return. The two pat each other on the back and separate to talk to one another.

"Last time I saw you, the nurses were running out of the room." Spike laughs.

"Yeah, well…I was getting tired of all the attention and being poked with every needle they could stick into me. I was glad to get out of the hospital and doing rehab…"

"Sorry I missed visiting you for a month Dad, but things got kinda wild with all the media and changes in our world government. Carly and I became swamped in all the controversy."

The father smiled at him and rubbed his hair.

"Think nothing of it son. You had a job to do and I'm proud of ya, besides having less visitors gave me the chance to focus on getting better…and here I am."

Optimus Prime gazed down at the recovered man and nodded to him with a pleased look.

"Good to have you back with us Mr. Witwicky. I trust Trailbreaker didn't give you too much of a bumpy ride back to our base?"

Trailbreaker transformed into robot mode and stood behind Sparkplug proudly. The man chuckled at the leader's comment and patted Trailbreaker's chrome and black leg.

"Nah, as far as I'm concerned, that was one of the smoothest rides of my life. I think you Autobots have shock absorbers that would impress the hell out of any off road drivers."

"Heh!" Trailbreaker giggles. "I'm built tough, no matter what the condition of the road…I'll be sure to handle anything."

Prime and the others share a moment of laughter and soon begin to make their way into the buried ship. Spike walks along side his father and wraps his arm around him as they both stride in at the same pace.

"So what's been going on while I've been on vacation? Any more excitement?" Sparkplug smirks.

"Ah, you know…" Spike scoffs. "Some new Autobots they found in the ship, Wheeljack being stuck in his new lab…but the one thing that you'll like to hear…they're going after Archeville."

"Cool." The father replies. "I'm glad someone is going after that maniac…why if I had the chance, I'd wrap my hands around that man's throat personally and make him wish he were dead."

Spike gave a surprised look and felt his father was just being sarcastic. "Yeah sure…and I suppose you'd love to beat him down with a lead pipe while he lay there dead too. Come on, Dad."

The father stops and pulls his son's arm away as he stands in front of him.

"No I'm serious Spike. A man like that doesn't deserve to live, look what he's done to this planet…to all of us…there's an evil brewing in that brain of his that just isn't worth sparing. Optimus Prime needs to end this man's terror hold once and for all…just as he did with Megatron."

"But murder?" Spike soon adds with a raised voice. "You've always taught me that taking a life…any life…was the wrong thing to do."

Sparkplug sighed. "I know. Maybe I'm just cranky about this whole thing…but Archeville needs to be punished for what he did. Cause if he gets away and we never find him? God only knows what's waiting for us next."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Naked and still standing on the very large table with the metal chair he had been sitting in; Archeville tries to walk around in his half-cybernized body. He's thankful his legs, torso and left arm were unharmed, but with the heavy metal right arm and skullcap attached, it feels like he's carrying a slab of rock. The man suddenly trips and falls hard to the floor, pounding on the metal surface in anger, he soon whimpers and grits his teeth in self-pity.

"No…" He growls to himself wiping away the tears from his face. "I will not do this. I won't become weak! I've overcome hard times before…this…this is no different. The world will still be mine! I must be strong…just a while longer…yes…strong."

The man rises up again and balances out his top-heavy body, as he regains his composure, Starscream enters the room and throws a load of clothing at him.

"Here!" He shouts the startled naked man. "Choose your outfit out of these and hurry up. Megatron is preparing to leave to the co-ordinates you gave us."

Archeville bends down and sifts through the garments, he seems rattled by the lone appearance of Starscream, after being through such an ordeal with the commander it chills him to even be in a room with him.

"Is…is this all?" He says looking up with astonishment.

"It is enough. More then you deserve at all…human." Starscream growls as he dims his eyes at the man in distrust.

"Enough? This is just a pair of shoes, jeans, one white collared shirt and…and a lab coat!" The man harps back. "Where in the hell did you get this?"

Starscream leans in close to the man as he trembles at the sight of the massive face of the robot closing in.

"Why…from one of your doomed subs Doctor. It was the few clothes I could find in such a short time that met with your specific requirements. Trust me…it would have served no purpose for their dead carcasses to remain wearing those things."

Archeville was utterly shocked and disgusted by the thought. An ex-crew member or one of his scientific staff had once worn the clothes that had been given to him. Slowly he started to put on the various items, it made him nauseous to strap them on and struggled to get the shirt over his right arm. Starscream stood back and watched the pathetic man layer on his clothing, it amused him that humans have a sense of shame on putting on another dead person's clothes, where as a robot wouldn't careless about ripping out an extra cervo-unit from a body of a fellow Cybertronian.

"This arm…" Archeville grunted as he tried to fit the lab coat over his right side. "It is poor in construction. Why didn't you give me a more flexible…more human-like structure?"

"I think I did a terrific job with what I was given." Starscream answers as if insulted. "Who are you to criticize me?"

Archeville finally manages to bring the coat arm through and adjusts his collar in a calm manner.

"I'm a scientist. One who holds a degree in many fields…and I can tell you, I could have designed an arm better then this one."

The jet commander sneers at him and turns his back away.

"HA! A scientist…you know nothing compared to what I know."

Sitting down at the edge of the table, the old man notices the long drop down to where he'd have to be able to reach the floor. Rather then take the chance, he remains sitting there and asks the most obvious question plaguing his mind.

"How did you Decepticons survive the impact? I'm curious…the rate of speed alone should have shatter the ship to pieces and depth should have crushed your bodies."

Turning back around, Starscream seemed all to pleased to answer the man back.

"What did I tell you? You humans know nothing. Our technology is far too advanced to be destroyed by something like water, we've traveled though the depths of space…something far more deadlier then mere liquid. If we had impacted into a mountainside of rock, then yes…we might have been worst off just as we were before in the Autobot's ship. But the deep oceans of this planet simply softened our crash and eased us to the very bottom of this crevasse."

Listening intently to the explanation, Archeville used his analytical mind and worked out how it was possible.

"Ah…yes. You are a race of beings that live and breath in vacuous environments…so this would be nothing to your advanced cybernetic systems. Interesting. But surely the rest of the crew would have been destroyed from all the explosions and flying debris as it came down. I recall watching Optimus Prime flying out just as the cargo bay of Energon exploded...did that not destroy some of your men?"

Starscream stepped closer to the man sitting there and continued to answer his questions.

"I ejected that cargo just outside our hull. The explosion did some damage…but not enough to destroy us. Megatron is a capable engineer, if there was wounded he would know how to repair their circuitry and get them functioning again. The Constructicons were the main priority…once they were repaired, they in turn would work on the rest of us. Unfortunately, Reflector was the only one who suffered any loss…reduced to only one of him now…he is less then himself anymore."

"So it was Megatron who managed to re-activate you all. Hmmm...it seems that he is the most resistant to being damaged...I wonder if he is the most powerful Decepticon of them all." Archeville says stroking his chin in thought. "Yes...powerful, intelligent and impervious to any impact. Are all Decepticons as well constructed as he? Or is he merely the only one who has such a super structure?"

The commander lowers himself down to the human's eye level and squints at him with a curious gaze.

"You seem awfully interested by all of this human. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were trying to look for any sort of weakness I might admit to you. Am I wrong?"

Archeville nervously grins.

"I…I don't know what you mean? I'm just asking how you survived is all!"

Starscream stands up again and looks down at him.

"Riiight. You're just so concerned for our well being, I don't trust you human. You can guarantee that I'll be keeping a sharp eye on you, so try any tricks while I'm around…and I'll be there to make you pay for them."

"Not before Megatron does Starscream." The old man smirks back. "Remember…he gives the orders around here."

The robot squints at him again, he's no fool to what the man is trying to do. He can see the doctor is trying to bait him by using Megatron's leadership against his desire to lead. As of how or where he came to know of this inner struggle remains a mystery to him, but one thing is for certain, he will not be made the pawn of some weak flesh being's game. With one swift stroke, he reaches down and scoops the man into his hand. The sudden gab makes Archeville gasp in fear, as he almost believes Starscream was going to crush him to death in anger.

"Come Doctor…" The air commander snickers. "It's time to show us this precious project of yours…I hope it is more forthcoming then your witty observations."


	7. No More Secrets

Chapter Seven – No More Secrets

Inside the Autobot ship, Optimus Prime addresses his soldiers as they all stand at attention. With Jazz standing beside the massive leader and maintaining a straight pose himself, the entire group listens and watches Prime carefully.

"Autobots!" Prime says in his proud, booming voice. "Our long journey home awaits us, we've fought with our very lives against the Decepticons, only to be put on hold by a scheming individual who thinks he can control our destiny. If this were Megatron, I'd say plow on through and leave none in our wake, but this human creature…Doctor Archeville…has something that must never be allowed used again."

The leader paces up and down the line up and looks at each one of his fellow kin.

"Project N is now our main concern." He continues to say. "A weapon of unknown origin that is very deadly and currently a threat to our leaving this world. I had hoped the humans would see the logic in taking down this evil man and his secret base, but confusion and distrust has blinded them all to what must be done. Therefore, it is our duty to protect this world and ourselves…we must become the hand of justice and destroy whatever it is the Doctor is hiding. I know what many of you are thinking…"

Prime stops to look at Ironhide, "That this is how it should be, to let nothing stand in our way and teach these people a lesson."

The leader moves again and faces Bumblebee looking up with innocent eyes.

"Some believe that this is foolish and a waste of our time. A time when we should be heading back for home and letting the humans deal with Archeville and his men."

Optimus walks again and finally glances over at Wheeljack.

"And there are those who think that by doing this…we will make an enemy of those whom we just became friends with. That it will spur up hatred against our kind and give those looking for a reason to hate a means of drawing others to their side."

Stepping back over beside Jazz and tapping his manifold mouth with the tips of his right hand finger, Prime stares over at both Spike and Sparkplug standing off to the side watching the entire group.

"But we do nothing and remain neutral, we would be as cold and heartless as the Decepticons ever were. No, I will not let this man go un-noticed, I will not let this world be ripped apart by yet another war and suffer the same fate as Cybertron. There needs to be peace and harmony no matter which planet we stand upon, the secrets are over, the lies are finished…now we must help our friends in their darkest hour."

The band of robots cheered at Optimus's speech and saluted proudly replying in the same united voice he'd come to expect of them all.

"YES, SIR!"

Jazz steps in front of the line up, turns around and salutes the leader as he faces him.

"The men are ready for your command Prime. What are your orders?"

Optimus folds his arms and sighs.

"Naturally we all can't go, some of us will have to stay behind and watch the ship…"

Wheeljack steps forward with his hand raised.

"I'll stay Optimus. I've got things that need my attention in my lab."

"Pfft! Ain't that somethin'…" Huffer scoffs quietly to himself. "Why am I not surprised?"

Optimus nods at Wheeljack, making the Autobot lower his hand and stepping back into the line up. With no one else stepping forward to volunteer, Prime now takes charge and points to those who will remain with Wheeljack.

"Brawn, Huffer, Trailbreaker and Bluestreak. You will keep Wheeljack company and maintain alert here where we can contact you."

Bluesteak and Huffer's mouths open wide in disbelief.

"What?" Huffer shouts. "Come on Optimus! Don't leave me behind again…I'm not a babysitter I'm a fighter!"

"Yeah!" Bluestreak adds. "You need all the guns you can muster to help take on these armored humans."

Prime places his hands on his hips and shakes his head in disagreement.

"Look…we've got more then enough to take on the base, I can't have all of you rushing in as if they were the Decepticons. I need you here to keep a vigil eye on the ship incase Archeville does have another trick up his sleeve…we may need back up for all you know."

Both Huffer and Bluestreak back down as they hear the leader admit that fact, a sensible precaution in their eyes, but still somewhat disappointed being chosen to stay behind.

"Oh…alright Prime." Huffer sighs. "I guess we could do that for ya. But the minute you get into trouble…"

"I know, I know…" The leader interrupts and snickers. "You'll be there within a photon flash."

Sparkplug walks over to the leader and clears his throat.

"What about us Prime? Spike and I…we want to join the battle too."

Hound speaks up for Optimus and looks at the human with disapproval.

"Forget it guys. This is one mess you don't want to have on your hands, better let us handle this and take all the heat. Besides Sparkplug, you just got back on your feet again…I'd hate to see you badly wounded again. I'm sure Spike feels the same about that."

Spike joins with his father and pats his shoulder. "He's right, pop. I couldn't bear to see you like that again. Why don't I go instead…you could use the rest."

Prime lowers himself down on one knee to talk to the both of them and squints his pulsating blue, electric eyes.

"Not this time Spike. It would be safer for both of you to remain here, Hound has a point about keeping you away from this conflict…we run the risk of alienating your entire species by going in without their authorization. You still need to live here with your reputations intact…once our mission is over and Archeville is placed under arrest…we'll be returning home to finish the battle we began there."

Spike and Sparkplug understand and agree with his decision. They would like nothing better then to run right in with the Autobots and single handedly take on the madman and his cronies. But going into battle against their own kind and against the U.N.'s blessing would be a mark that neither one of them could escape from after the Autobots leave.

"What about Cliffjumper, Optimus?" Jazz inquires.

Prime rises up and remembers that the mini-Autobot is still in his quarters and stripped of his rank.

"He needs time to think about his actions." The leader sighs. "I'll talk to him once we get back. For now…he needs to cool that ego of his."

Blaster steps out of line and becomes frustrated with all this talking.

"Come on Prime! Lets do this thang before it gets stale, man! I say we boogie on out and put the petal to the metal!"

"HA!" Windcharger blurts out at the yellow and orange Autobot. "Look who's talking? You ain't got a petal to put the metal too."

"Figure of speech, Windcharger." Blaster shouts over to him. "Don't make me come over there and bitch slap ya!"

Windcharger shrugs his shoulders to Prowl standing next to him and giggles with him about Blaster's comeback. Optimus shakes his head at the two arguing and points to Blaster to get back inline. The orange and yellow robot does as he's told and returns in the line up.

"Fine…I think we all know what has to be done then. Remember that these are humans…they are fragile and easily harmed. I want very low casualties on this mission, in fact I want next to none at all. Target only their vehicles, weapons and armaments…I'll not have this become an all out bloody war as if we were the Decepticons…understood?"

"Yes, Sir." The all replied.

"Good. Autobots…Transform and Roll Out!"

One by one the robots convert into their alternate modes. Blaster, being the odd one out, transforms into his mini-disk/CD boom box self. The colorful transformer resembles the "hip-hop" trend in technology, large chrome rimmed speakers, glowing control buttons and his chest plate as a graphics screen. As he continues to transform, the molecule sized nanites scale down his size and fits into the hand of Jazz, who comes to take him inside his car form.

"Alright Blaster...lets you and me ride out with a number one beat!" Jazz says to him as he transforms into his sports car mode.

"I heard that, Jazz. Lets crank the tunes and get this convoy going!"

As the others continue to transform and ride out of the ship, Jazz and Blaster begin to play Eminem's song "Without Me" as they zip through the corridors and exit out. Optimus Prime shakes his head from their choice in music and quickly transforms himself into the tractor-trailer mode. With Prime following the others out, Spike and Sparkplug remain inside the ship and look at the five Autobots staying behind.

"Well, guess that means we're on sentry duty fellas." Wheeljack says rubbing his hands. "Who wants first watch?"

"Why? Where are you running off too Wheeljack?" Huffer says looking at him with curious interest.

"Oh no reason…I thought I could just go to my lab and…"

Trailbreaker quickly shakes his finger at him squints his unified eye at him.

"Ooooh no you don't! I know you…once you're in that lab you'll never come out for hours. We're stayin' right here…all of us."

"That's right." Bluestreak adds. "If I've got to stay here and play nanny to Huffer…we all do."

"What?" Huffer shouts angrily. "The day you play nursemaid to me is the day you can whoop my steel hide, Bluestreak."

"Oh, alright you two!" Wheeljack sighs lifting his head. "Give it a rest. Fine, we're all staying here on duty. Happy now?"

Bluestreak and the other Autobots laughingly agree that they are. With that settled, Spike approaches Wheeljack and pats his metal leg for comfort.

"Well, we'd all like to be something else other then being here Wheeljack. Just out of curiosity, why are you intent on going back to your lab?"

The Autobot kneels down to him and breathes out reluctantly.

"I wanted to study more about those dinosaurs you told me about. I back tracked some files Telatran One had on them, some entertainment programs and research papers on their structures."

"Why?" Spike inquires.

The robot looked around to see if anyone else was listening in before he answered Spike's question. The other Autobots and Sparkplug where standing near the computer and conversing to themselves. Wheeljack lowers himself down even further to Spike and keeps his voice lowered just incase someone does hear.

"I've got an idea about something…but I'm not sure that the others would approve. You see…those creatures might have the right size and bulk to make…"

Suddenly the alarm sounds off on Telatran One, lights flash and its booming voice echoes throughout the room.

"ALERT! ALERT! Energy signatures detected!"

Spike and Wheeljack quickly join the others standing around the computer and view the large monitor in front. Bluestreak sits down at the computer and taps the keyboard rapidly.

"What is it Bluestreak? What's up T-one's processors?" Huffer groans.

"According to this, there is a large group of energy signatures heading across the ocean…and I mean fast! I'm having a hard time trying to pin point them…" The Autobot replies as he reads the scrolling alien text on the monitor. "Scanners are trying to lock on but…."

"But? But what?" Trailbreaker asks.

Bluestreak leans back in the chair and the alarms turn off.

"They're gone. They were there…but now they're gone."

"Dang it all, Bluestreak!" Huffer screams as he pounds on the console. "Give us something! What was it? Where was it headed?"

Turning around in the chair to face them all, he looks up and calmly states the facts.

"I don't know what they were…but all Telatran seems to know is the one direction they were going…North!"

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Somewhere in the North Pole region…

Two figures with thick fur laden coats and dark goggles walk through the deep snow and ice. Visibility is hard to see as the two walk through the terrible winter storm, the wind is bitterly cold and freezing their jackets as build up of ice and snow crust over them. As they stop to have a look around, they bring around their shoulders two semi-automatic weapons and casually talk to one another as they shiver in the deep freeze.

"D-d-damn, why did I take this assignment? This totally blows…" The man says as he wipes off his face to expose his facial hair.

"I know, I know…" The other man now speaks. "But don't say blow…this wind is bad enough without hearing more breezing out of you."

They both chuckle at one another and suddenly feel large tremors; the two quickly aim their weapons at the location of the sound and blindly stare into the dense storm. More thumping is heard and the sound of ice and snow crushing in the distance. The men continue to point their weapons in fear and gaze deeper.

"What hell is that noise?" The one man says.

"I...I dunno?"

"WHO'S OUT THERE? SHOW YOURSELF!" The armed man screams loudly.

Through the dense storm comes a man sized figure heading towards them. The two frozen men quickly step up to the mysterious person and keep their guns locked on to him as they approach.

"Ok that's far enough! This is a restricted area…show me your pass or turn around right now!" He says to the intruder.

The lone figure is dressed in simple clothes, not enough to be warm from the cold and certainly not in some you'd see someone wearing out in the middle of nowhere. As the man looks up at them, the two give a look of surprise and lower their weapons.

"Doctor Archeville? Is…is that you sir?"

The strange metal hand sticking out from his white lab coat and the metal domed head with the two protruding nodules give them a moment to hesitate. But the Doctor, shivering from the excessive cold, gives a nod and friendly smile as he greets them.

"Yes, by boy…yes. I have returned to oversee the Project…here is my pass you require."

The doctor reaches into his pocket and hands over a dark looking card to the other guard standing there.

"I don't think that is necessary Doctor…but…I mean…my god! You must be freezing to death? What happened? Is everything ok?"

Archeville continues to shiver badly and lowers his head.

"No…no my boy. Things are much worst then they seem."

As the guard looks down at the card the old man handed over, he notices it doesn't look like the one they normally use. In fact, this one looks more like a mini-disk with a purple symbol stamped on it. The guard looks confused but soon discovers that it is quickly grown and unfolding in his very hand. The transforming sound occurs and now Ravage springs on top of the unsuspecting man as it claws and bites him to death. As his friend turns around to fire at it, he witnesses another shadow coming out of the mists of the snow, one larger and with a pair of glowing red eyes. The man screams in terror and shoots at it, but the large silver robotic foot comes out and crushes him to death like someone putting out a cigarette.

"Pathetic…simply pathetic." Megatron's voice echoes in the wind.

Archeville lifts his head after the deed is done and witnesses Megatron being revealed as the snowstorm gives way to show his appearance.

"And here I thought this was going to be a challenge."

The evil transformer laughs hysterically and places his hands at his side. As the doctor looks around, the rest of the Decepticons step through the snowy winds and laugh along with their leader. The old man collapses to the ground and whispers under his breath.

"What have I done?"


	8. Project N Exposed!

Chapter Eight – Project N Exposed!

The dust stirs outside a guarded fence in the middle of a sun-drenched valley; a lone wind blows in the background giving it the feel of total emptiness of life. The uniformed guards pacing back and forth with their weapons cross past the large sign that hangs on the electrified, barbed wire top fence.

NO UNAUTHORIZED PERSONEL ALLOWED - HAVE YOUR IDENTITY CARDS READY AND DO NOT PASS THE YELLOW LINE

The smooth black pavement to the gate had a yellow strip going across it, nearly five feet away from the fence entrance, it is the only allowed distance one can approach, any closer then that and the guards will instantly shoot without a second thought. This is a very top-secret base, full of hidden sensors and cameras that monitor the road and gate at all times. A small-fortified booth is the only thing sitting in-between this massive barrier, a guard post that houses the only switch to open and close the fence gate.

Both guards carry the standard military issue machine gun, fairly new in design and loaded with Teflon bullets as ammo. The casual nature of their walk and their weapons slung behind their backs suggest that it's a dull posting for likes of them, nobody ever comes up this road, the fresh unspoiled look of it is a dead giveaway and the markings on it look as if it had just been painted there.

"Man, it's hot out here." The one guard says as he stops to wipe his brow.

The other one hears him and turns back towards him.

"Yeah…I think it would be better to be in the arctic."

"HELL NO!" The sweating man shouts. "Those guys up there must be freezing their asses off."

"Well at least they're not dying of heat stroke like us." The friend replies. "Besides, I'll bet it's just as boring up there as it is down here."

"Yeah, ain't that the truth. 100 above or 100 below…either way the crappy assignments we all tend to get. Hope this project is worth all this…I haven't seen my girlfriend for six months! I just know she's cheatin' on me with some other fella."

The other guard chuckles and pats him on the back. "That's what ya get for hooking up with a woman like that. Cause that is one hot lookin' babe…yes sir."

"What do you mean…hot? You haven't been seeing her? Have ya?" The man asks in a very curious manner.

"Uhm…" The friend says as he squirms and adjusts his collar. "Uh…Well…I mean that is…."

Suddenly a sonic boom is heard on the ground in the very distance, the two men quickly notice it and look down the long stretch of road.

"What the hell was that?"

"Maybe it's Dave on patrol…he's supposed to be reporting in soon."

The guard swings his weapon around and holds it in his hands.

"Dave? Dave is on the other side of the fence moron!"

The other guard takes his machinegun in hand and takes off the safety switch.

"Right, right…sorry. Could be just a jet…something on base…but…out here? And on the road?"

The sweating man takes another rub at his forehead and peers his eyes as he tries to make out the shapes now heading up the road. The sound of the engines gunning at full speed starts to get closer and closer. Both men turn to glance at one another and prepare to fire at the on coming visitors.

"It's them…I know it is…" The one guard says as he gets his finger ready to pull the trigger.

"Who?" The other one questions as he two takes aim.

"The ones we're supposed to look out for. The ones trying to find this place dummy…the Autobots!"

"Well…don't worry. They'll have to stop…" The man says back with a calm voice. "With two humans in the way…they'll have to break or risk hurting us."

The other guard suddenly looks over at him. "Uh…is this really wise?"

"Trust me" The friend smiles. "They wouldn't dare run over us."

As the men turn back to poise their guns, the sudden look in their eyes as a loud horn sounds off at them, gives them both a quick face of fear as they rapidly begin shooting their weapons.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Inside the Area 51 Base, soldiers and vehicles move about the various buildings and hangers scattered about the large open area. Circular in form, the whole area seems more like an enclosed community; mountains cradle it all around and give it a very shielded look. The whole ground was paved and was nearly as jet black as the one road leading out beyond it. But after many years of use and vehicles driving all over it, the faded painted numbers and arrows had faded and cracked. This base was old, and yet it seemed like it was new in appearance. In the very center was the covered hole that housed the weapon that was used against the Decepticon ship, seams in the ground show where the doors would retract but those walking over it simply considered that door part of the overall paved ground of the base.

"Commander West! Commander West!!" A female voice cried out over the noise filled base.

The commander was seen crossing over the large covered weapon area and turned his head around at the approaching red headed female soldier trying to flag him down. Two other well groomed and suited men, one African American and the other Caucasian, stopped in their conversation with him as the woman finally reached Archeville's Second in command and breathed heavily as she tired to catch her breath from running.

"Sir!" She said as she took long gasps of air. "We've got a big problem!"

"What? What is it Lieutenant?"

"The base…its…its been penetrated!"

"WHAT?!" The man screams in anger.

Now the blaring alarm sounds out over the entire base, the booming siren sends the troops scrambling about as they automatically get their gear ready for whatever is heading for them. All of them know what that siren means, their defenses have been breached and intruders are on their way in.

"The Autobots!" West blurts out in realization. "Get the men ready and power up the main weapon!"

The three men scurry to a near by building as the woman dashes back to her own posting as she does as she's instructed by him. The armored troops load their guns and vehicles with everything they can and send up the modified helicopters that look updated with their "special technology" that they used during the last Autobot/Decepticon conflict. The choppers fly overhead of the troops and quickly disappear down the narrow road that goes in only one direction. The soldiers fortify their positions all around the base and point their guns nervously at the long paved road. As they remain silent, they can hear the helicopters attacking whatever it is at the end of the road, lasers fire, missiles explode and a billow of smoke now begins to rise in the mountainous distance. West and the others head down into the deeper regions of the base, and now enter the secret underground dwellings where they can watch the entire events on monitors and multiple camera angles.

"What's happening out there?" West demands of one of the soldiers listening to the communications band. "Did they eliminate the intruders?"

"Negative sir." The middle aged, Caucasian man says as he lowers his headphones in shock. "The air support just bit the dust."

"Get the weapon online fast!" The commander now screams.

Outside the troops can hear the sound of screeching tires and engines blaring at full throttle, one of the base's armored vehicles quickly zooms ahead and begins firing it's huge rocket strapped on top. The hurling weapon reaches the end of the road and strikes down at the faint speeding targets that almost become visible for a second, the explosion sends a fiery ball of flame up and the men all cheer at the sight of it's deadly attack. The smoke expanded out beyond and soon engulfed the entire base. The outside cameras couldn't see past the dark smog that now clouded over the place and Commander West chewed at his thumb nervously as he waited to see the results when the smoke lifted.

"Well…anything?" He demanded to know of the staff all racing about trying to listen to the reports from the troops.

"Nothing yet sir…" The communications officer replied. "Wait…frontlines are saying something…"

"Put it on speakers."

The officer flicked on the overhead speakers in the room and West began to hear sounds of engines revving up again. It seem strange to him that the Autobots would act this way, he never thought it possible they would blindly just march in and shoot down his helicopter patrols, especially with all those humans aboard them. But he never did fully trust these giant Cybertronian robots that wanted to befriend their kind, every creature had an agenda in his mind, no matter if they come as friend or foe. The sound of the engines convinced him the Autobots were unharmed and before he could give instructions to the troops, the visitors zoomed into the base and began smashing anyone and everything in their way.

The dark cloud of smoke continued to make things difficult to see, the troops opened fire in every direction the noise was coming from and ended up getting run down by the attackers that moved too fast for anyone to stop. The ammo and missiles where flying about the chaos going on within the base, troops were dying as they would accidentally hit one another in all the confusion. West pounded his fists on the monitor as he watched his whole special military go up in flames. The man quickly rushed out of the underground lair and surfaced to the top to get a first hand look at the Autobots destroying everything Archeville had built.

"Sir!" A soldier screamed as he ran up to the Commander. "The Autobots are everywhere! They're…killing us!!"

"This is insane!" West says grabbing him. "Autobots don't kill humans! What the hell is going on?"

Suddenly one of the vehicles pounds through the building beside them and stops just a few feet away. West and the soldier cough from the dust and debris flying past but soon look up to see the pale green vehicle sitting there. Looking at intensely, West's eyes give a realization and informs the soldier of his error.

"My God! That's not an Autobot…it's…it's…it's a Decepticon!!"

The construction vehicle quickly transforms as the men watch in horror, and snickers at the two of them cower in fear.

"Humans!" Scrapper yells. "No one tries to kill the Decepticons and lives! Prepare for your Deaths!!"

The other Constructicons rush up beside him and also transform.

"I say we keep running them down!" Bonecrusher demands.

"No! Stomp on them…crush them all!!" Scavenger yells as he shakes his fist.

"Never mind the dramatics…" Hook groans. "Just shoot the little bugs with your weapons."

"That's even better!" Mixmaster laughs.

"Yes…" Long Haul nods in agreement. "Why waist perfectly good fuel when we can obliterate them with our superior weapons!"

West runs up to the six evil transformers and screams up at them.

"You…you can't be alive? Your ship crashed into the ocean…It's impossible!!"

"Believe it human. The Decepticons are back…" Scavenger says looking down at him. "And we're ticked off at all of you."

West steps back with a horrified gaze as he and the other soldier now run for their lives as the Constructicons whip out their black weapons and begin firing away at them. All of them laugh as they watch the humans dart their fire and flee for their own lives.

"And you said this wouldn't be any fun Hook." Scavenger says looking back at him.

The fellow Constructicon smirked and continued firing at the scared human soldiers.

"Consider this a retraction of my previous statement."

The six Decepticons continued to destroy every building and every vehicle surrounding them, the base and at those trying to stop them by any means necessary. Fire and smoke now danced across this once secret operation as the deadly six destroyed it from existence.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

Back in the Arctic, more guards stand around a massive snow covered metallic object that juts out of the ground like a rock on an incline. The snow and ice make it hard to make out what it is, but the grey and patchy look of it makes it look alien in origin, a small door that looks cut into the side of it is the only thing that looks man made. As the large group of parka wearing soldiers stand around with their weapons beside them, the ground begins to shake and the cracking of the ice around them can be heard. The men all call one another to action and ready themselves as they gaze around to see what's causing it. Once again, a lone figure runs out of the snowy mists and shouts at them all.

"Shoot! Shoot I say! Fire at will!!" Archeville screams as he reveals himself to them.

The men all pause as they wonder how the hell he got there, but that was a short-lived pause as they soon saw the Decepticons marching in slowly. The troops quickly obeyed their project leader and used their weapons that looked far more advanced then the ones the Doctor encountered earlier. These weapons fired pulse shots of green energy that dented the plating on most of the Decepticons.

"Ouch!" Starscream flinched. "Why you little fleshlings! How dare you hurt me!"

Starscream fired his arm cannons at the humans and vaporized the few that managed to wound him slightly. The other Decepticons quickly did the same thing as they each took out a group of soldiers trying to take them all on. The blood curling sound of their screams and weapons firing made the Doctor cover his face with his hands. Lowering them down slowly from his face, he looked at his new metal claw-like hand and stared at it with mad gaze. He noticed how much it didn't freeze or feel cold to the rest of his body, a quiet little giggle now came out of him as he kept opening and closing his hand with the sound of the gears and motors making it move.

"That was a stupid mistake Doctor." Megatron's voice boomed out above him.

Archeville stopped his giggling and glared up at the massive Decepticon leader.

"I know…but it was worth a try at the very least."

"It wasn't even that…human." Megatron chuckled. "It was merely stupid for you and your men to think you could stop us at all."

Soundwave walked up to the leader and saluted him as he gladly gave his report to him.

"Human resistance has been exterminated."

"Excellent." Megatron smiled. "Once the Constructicons report the same of Archeville's base…we'll have nothing further to hinder our plans."

The human doctor heard the leader and ran over pounding on the silver robot's leg.

"Nooo! I…I gave you no location of that place! Spare it! My life's work is there! I beg of you Megatron…take Project N…but don't destroy all that I have!"

Megatron lightly pushed the doctor away from his person and scowled at him.

"You have nothing!" He growled. "I now command you flesh bag! Everything you own or ever will have belongs to me. You attacked us from that base of yours…Soundwave made sure of tracking it's location the day you sent us to the bottom of the ocean. It was a death sentence you gave your men…you're responsible for their doom…consider it as punishment for getting in my way!"

"No…nooooo!" Archeville whimpered as he shivered in the snow.

Megatron stared at the large metal object ahead of him and smirked as he now walked up and touched it's metal surface.

"Yes Doctor…Project N and all you've discovered…is now mine!"

Megatron laughed in a great booming evil tone that seemed to carry across the icy terrain and even into the howling, snow filled wind.


	9. Battle Of Area 51

Chapter Nine – Battle of Area 51

"Get a move on it Bluestreak!" Huffer screams as he, Wheeljack, Trailbreaker, Sparkplug, Spike and Brawn run down the long corridor of the Autobot ship.

"Wait! We can't just go to the far north…what about Optimus Prime's orders to stay here?" Bluestreak moans as he tries to catch up.

Wheeljack picks up Spike as they dash and quickly transforms into his sporty car mode as he places the young man inside of him. Trailbreaker pulls up beside Sparkplug and allows him to climb in.

"We've got to get a move on to see what that energy signature was…" Wheeljack says as he converts. "It might have something to do with Archeville and that Project of his."

"You don't know that for sure Wheeljack…" Spike says as he buckles up. "Could be just a bunch of meteorites heading through the atmosphere…or maybe even a space debris…or…"

"Yeah right!" Trailbreaker scoffs as he too transforms. "All in formation and arriving just at the same time Prime and the others leave? My processors it's not a coincidence!"

"I'm with you on that one Trailbreaker." Sparkplug says patting Trailbreaker's dashboard. "Archeville's men have pulled the wool over our eyes before, who knows what that madman has in store for us all next. Chances are they saw Prime and the others heading out and decided to move the project before they could get to it."

"But we can't be sure of that Dad." Spike responds as he hears his father over Wheeljacks speakers. "What if it's something else? Something that has nothing to do with it?"

Huffer transforms into his orange truck cab mode and leads them out of the Ark. "We'll talk about it when we get there guys…transform and roll out!"

Suddenly Cliffjumper blocks their way at the exit and folds his arms over. Everyone stops in their tracks as they see him there and Bluestreak finally catches up to the rest of them.

"Move it Cliffjumper! We've got a mission!" Huffer shouts.

"I ain't moving till someone tells me what's going on."

Huffer transforms back into robot mode shakes his fist at him.

"Move aside dang blasted! We're on our way to solve a riddle."

Cliffjumper laughs and places his hands on his side.

"Oh come on…you are going to solve a riddle? If I remember correctly, Optimus Prime told you nut jobs to stay here and baby-sit me."

Spike rolls down Wheeljack's window and pops his head out.

"How did you know that? You were confined to your quarters."

"But I still got my clearance to activate Telatran's inner security monitors. I watched the entire conference from my room…" Cliffjumper grins.

"Why you sneaky lil' devil." Trailbreaker laughs. "I guess the next thing your gonna tell us is that if we don't take you with us, you're gonna tattle on us to Prime."

"See Trailbreaker…you know me better then you thought." The red mini robot winks.

"Well we can't have someone like that sitting alone at the base. What do you say Huffer? Think we can take this no good so-and-so with us?" Brawn chuckles.

Huffer tilts his head back and gives a long sigh. "Oh…alright. But you're a civilian now…so you'll do as I say. No weapons, no charging in ahead of us and for crying out loud…just do as you're told for once. You got that?"

"Just wanna see what all the fuss is about, that's all Huff."

"Why do I get the feeling I'm gonna get a lip full when Prime gets back?" Huffer moans again.

"This was your big idea Huffer." Wheeljack snickers as Spike sticks his head back inside. "So quit wasting time giving him the rules and lets get a move on, huh?"

Huffer transforms into his orange cab mode again and laughs. "You got that right buddy. Autobots transform and move out!"

Bluestreak and Cliffjumper transform and join the others as the speed out of the ship, as they head out down the road, Spike looks back at the ship with concern.

"But what about protecting the ship? Won't Optimus be mad for not staying?"

"Don't worry Spike." Wheeljack says. "We'll be back before Prime even knows we're gone. Telatran One…activate security protocols!"

Inside the ship, the voice of Wheeljack giving the command switches the computer on and the monitor scrolls with a flashing Autobot insignia.

"Affirmative. Security protocol activated." The booming voice of the computer announces.

Just as the group leaves the perimeter, a large blue electric force field surrounds the area as it protect the ship inside. With the base now safe, the fast driving group head down the dirt road and suddenly flash into their transwarp speed.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

A sudden blast of weapons fire sends a gaping hole through the alien ship's structure. Inside the vessel, more humans with weapons await the Decepticons as they step through; with Megatron leading them all he kicks a group of the similar armed humans out of his path and fires his massive plasma cannon down at them all. The death is quick and painful as the men scream in their final moment. Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp and Soundwave trample through the rest and fire on the rest that seem to pop out of every corner above and below them.

"This is too easy!" Starscream laughs. "These humans are utterly stupid as all be!"

"Then they must be surprised to see another of their kind come in then, right Starscream?" Thundercracker says in a sarcastic tone.

Starscream gives the Decepticon a back slap for talking to him like that and points his cannon at the other jet robot's head.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself Thundercracker…or I'll blast them out for you!"

"Just…just kidding…" He nervously smiles back.

Megatron glares back at them as he continues on ahead into the large alien ship. "Enough of your foolish play…forward Decepticons! Forward to victory!"

Soundwave keeps close to the leader and begins protecting him like a bodyguard; he randomly shoots the humans trying to stop them and scans the interior for him.

"The ship looks to be familiar in design and I've already detected a command bridge a few feet ahead."

"Well done, Soundwave. As soon as we secure the vessel have Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy and Skywarp put on patrol."

"As you command mighty Megatron." The yellow-eyed robot bows.

"Scan the bridge I want to know if there are more of these pathetic fleshlings inside."

"Scanning…Scanning…Scan complete. The humans are trying to fortify the door as we speak." Soundwave explains to the leader.

"Foolish humans, they dare try to stop us from gaining entry? They are no match for the might of the Decepticons. Such a weak display…I had expected more." Megatron snarls in disgust. "This secret better be worth all their lives…because that's exactly what I'm going to take away from them all!"

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

On the barren road leading into Area 51, Optimus Prime and the other Autobots drive down the fresh black looking asphalt as they come out of trans-warp. The blinding bright flash at the end of the road brings them zooming in one after the other, as they all soon begin to drive at a normal rate of speed as they approach Area 51. Optimus Prime, leading the convoy behind him, begins to slow down as he sees the smoldering ruins of the front gates ahead. As the massive tractor-trailer comes to a stop, the other vehicles behind also break and edge out from behind to see what is causing the leader to halt.

"What the dilly-o Prime?" Blaster shouts out from inside Jazz. "You bust a tire or somethin'?"

Optimus remains in his cab form and uses in inside sensors to scan the debris, he is horrified by the remains of crushed humans, helicopters ripped to shreds and burning on the ground and the sight of the gate busted wide open to the base beyond.

"Something…or someone…has been here before us." Prime says to the questioning communications officer.

"Before us?" Sideswipe now utters as he parks beside Sunstreaker. "Oh great…you mean we came all this way for nothing?"

"Guess the humans decided to take on Archeville by themselves after all, huh Prime?" Sunstreaker now adds.

The leader remains rumbling his engine as he thinks things over. The carnage is far to widespread to be the work of other human military, Prime had seen the tactics humans tend to make and the fact that they could take out such advanced weapondary like Archeville's men seemed questionable. His thoughts were plagued by questions as he mulled over what might have happened here, but rather then waste more time and trying to figure it out, the leader simply moved forward and passed the gate area.

"I don't have a good feeling about this Prime." Red Alert now says as he pulls up beside the large red and grey tractor-trailer. "If this was the humans attacking each other…why isn't there any more of them laying about?"

"Maybe they caught them by surprise." Jazz now adds. "We've seen the humans plan for war before Optimus…"

"Yes." Prime answers back. "But we've also seen the terrible weapons in the hands of Archeville's men. Red Alert has a point…if this was a battle with other humans attacking each other…there should be more then this. This could be a trap…a way of luring us in to whatever waits inside."

"Enough yappin and more action Optimus" Ironhide groans. "Time to see what's going on up there!"

The transformer zooms past the other and his leader as he floors it down the road, the obvious path had been cleared by whatever had attacked the humans, suggesting that something had pushed it all away as it head inwards. As Ironhide zipped past them all, Optimus Prime suddenly began to follow the hasty mini van as he tried to keep up.

"Ironhide! Get back here!" He screamed. "Blasted all…we'd better catch up to him before he gets his hub cabs blown off."

"It wouldn't be the first time." Inferno chuckled as he increased speed with the others.

Red Alert, in his supped up red and white Lamborghini fire chief car mode, flashed his red lights on top of his roof and moved back behind Optimus Prime.

"I really have a bad feeling about this…" Red Alert moans.

The convoy continues down the road, just as the sound of explosions and weapons fire can be heard in the distance.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The Constructicons fired at anything and everything that moved or crawled. Merciless in their task, they made sure all the humans on the base were being wiped out as Megatron had instructed them to do. Bonecrusher and Scrapper transformed again and rammed down the various buildings that stood on the ground. Hook, Long Haul and Mix Master spread out across the fiery base and looked around for any hidden pockets of resistance. The human soldiers stood their ground and fired everything they had at the metal monsters, but realizing the effort was futile, they retreated together as they ran to the last area where they could regroup.

"This is a slaughter!" The leading soldier shouted. "We need reinforcements! NOW!"

"Ask and ye shall receive…" Commander West said as he approached the center of the huddled group.

Taking an out a cellular phone, the man pushed the send button and spoke into the device with a manner of calm.

"Bring out the tanks…and prepare to open the main weapon doors."

A few feet away from where they all stood, several lowering sections began to appear as massive trap doors opened to allow desert-camouflaged tanks to drive out from underground. These tanks where massive and obviously built with the usual technology they had been incorporating into their military as before. The tanks had large cannons that pulsated with energy at the ends of them, a high pitched whine of the power build up and a large blue release of the shot propelled over to where each of the Constructicons stood and knocked them out of place. The men cheered at the sight and followed in behind the tanks as they took it as a sign to strike back.

"They want a war?" West smirked as he remained behind watching with pride. "Then by all means…lets give them the biggest one."

As the commander continued to watch the action unfold ahead, from behind came a glaring light that made him turn round and take notice. Speeding up towards the man at a high rate came Optimus Prime and the Autobots. Ironhide, who was still ahead of the rest, transformed and pointed his weapon down at the bewildered man.

"Stay where you are and don't move…my finger is just itchin' for somethin' to do some shootin' human."

Prime quickly transformed as he approached the surprised human and glared at him in anger.

"Surrender the base and yourselves! This secret is over…" Prime demanded.

"Nothing is over…and we surrender to no one!" West screams up at Prime. "Not to you…nor them!"

As the other Autobots transformed and looked up at the battle Optimus himself was now staring at, they could clearly see the tanks and troops firing away at the very threat they thought was gone forever.

"Decepticons!" Bumblebee gasped in amazement.

"How can that be?" Ironhide questions. "They're all dead…aren't they?"

Prime focus his robotic eyes and zooms in on the ferocious battle.

"It's them alright. The crash must not have been as serious as we had all assumed…but…if they're here that means…"

"Megatron!" Prowl says completing his leader's thought. "If they survived…so did he!"

"What have you done?" Prime says in horror as he looks down at West. "What have you and Archeville done!"

The man smiles and laughs at Optimus Prime's expression.

"We've taken control over our fate and that of the world…soon we will be the ultimate power to be reckoned with!"

"You fools…" Prime says shaking his head. "You damn fools…you've only started a chain reaction that will end very badly for all of us."

Turning back to watch his tanks firing away at the Constructions, he folds his arms over and snickers at the Autobot leader's statement.

"I think we will have everything under control. Now that we have the weapons…the technology…we will be the ones dictating terms. Once the Decepticons are under our control…you and your Autobots will be next. Time to admit you've met your match Prime…we've won!"

Look up at the Constructions grouping together and trying to block the various energy blasts at them, Optimus Prime gives a long sigh and readies his gun for what he knows is inevitable.

"No you haven't. Control is the last thing you've got right now…and believe me…you're about to get a dose of humility of the worst kind."

The green colored Decepticons circle around each other back-to-back and fire at the tanks swarming them.

"These humans are beginning to get on my nerves Scrapper!" Hook shouts.

"Then by all means…lets show them what real devastation is like!" Scrapper says as he clenches his fist. "Constructicons! UNITE!"

The group of Decepticons transforms into their various vehicle modes and then begins transforming again. West and the other humans watch in awe as they suddenly see the vehicles shift and contort into a new form they've never seen. Each Constructicon begins folding over and linking to each other, Scrapper and Mix Master join with Long Haul and Hook as they form legs and a torso; Bonecrusher and Scavenger merge together as they mount on the sides and create two massive arms. West's jaw gapes open as he sees the final form coming together and notices they've become a massive robot body. As a panel slides open on the top of the form, the massive head comes rising out and the black and chromed head of the monster robot now completes the transformation.

"Holy Shit! What the hell is that?" West utters.

"Devastator." Prime breathes out as he says the Decepticon's name.

The massive Decepticon's eye flashes and gives a rising evil chuckle as he comes online.

"Humans…" The loud booming voice of the monster announces. "Prepare for your obliteration!"

West looks up at Optimus Prime just as he in turn looks down at him.

"Congratulations…you've just lost control." Prime states.


	10. Rampage of Devastator

Chapter Ten – Rampage of Devastator

The huge pale green robot glared down at the surrounding tanks and brought his fists down to the ground in anger. The shockwave from the strike sent the armored vehicles flying away as if they were constructed out of paper. Devastator was merciless in his rampage as he grabbed the tanks and ripped them into pieces. The soldiers scream and run for their lives as the giant robot stomps down after them, his evil laughter sends a chill down Commander West's spine as he stands there helplessly while his men are being wiped out.

"Nothing stops Devastator! The Decepticons shall rule over you all!" The large pale green combiner shouts.

A panel opens from behind the robot and he pulls out a massive purple colored weapon that unfolds to its full-scale form. West was in awe of the sheer size of the gun Devastator held, before he could even order his men to fall back, the giant robot pointed it at the group of fleeing tanks and fired it on them. In one swift stroke, the powerful green blast from the weapon took out the entire fleet of tanks as they vaporized before his very eyes.

"NOOOO!" West shouted in anger.

Optimus Prime looked at the faces of the Autobots behind him; they too were in shock at the sight of the massive death the Decepticon gave to the humans. Prime took a look at his gun and held on to it as he thought of a way to defeat Devastator.

"Autobots!" Prime shouted as he tried to snap them out of their gaze. "Ready for attack!"

"Are you nuts Prime?" Ironhide says. "All our fire power combined won't bring that monster down. Hell, even when we were all on Cybertron it took nearly half of our forces just to even push him back!"

"I know…I KNOW!" Prime shouts back at him. "But what would you have me do Ironhide? If Devastator continues like this he'll surly wipe out all these poor creatures from existence."

"Maybe we shouldn't help at all Prime." Prowl says as he folds his arms over. "Archeville needs to be taught a lesson and so do all these humans in here. If it hadn't been for them, none of us would be a problem now."

Prime walks over and places his hand on the security chief's shoulder.

"Can you be that cruel Prowl? To stand by here and watch innocent life suffer. They may have been foolish and probably deserve what they got. But, what does that say about us?"

Prowl stares up at the leader as he continues to speak to him.

"Life is precious Prowl. All life is. So do we become as evil as the Decepticons and kill anything that stands in our way? Or do we take responsibility and guard those who need our protection from harm?"

"You're…you're right Prime." Prowl sighs as lowers his head. "Kup would have kicked my hide for losing sight of that."

"Uh…" Bumblebee says as he gestures to the spectacle happening beyond. "Are we going to do anything? Cause you know…there is a giant Decepticon running amok out there."

Prime laughs at Bumblebee's sarcastic remark hand gestures his men to circle around him.

"Right you are Bumblebee. Gather round everyone, I've got a plan that will require all our efforts."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Fortify you're positions! Don't let them break through!"

Back inside the alien ship in the arctic, the soldiers surround a massive metal door and continue firing away at the approaching Deceptions. The warmly dressed troops use every weapon available as they try to stop the robotic beings in their tracks. The laser weapons they hold are having no effect as it now just seems to bounce off the shining silver polished chest of Megatron as he walks in front of his Deception brood with no fear. The scowl on his face makes it all too clear that he's unimpressed with this human force, the continuing bombardment isn't so much a hindrance, but to him, just very annoying. The other Deceptions also continue to fire away at the resistance and personally make sure that there are no survivors in their wake. Ravage leaps around finding the small narrow cracks of the ancient looking metal hull and finds the soldiers trying to either escape or sneak around for another attack. Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp and Rumble follow up behind Megatron as they randomly shoot at both the group ahead and those begging to be spared as they lay wounded on the ground. Archeville, lagging behind in the wake of the battle, walks past the hordes of dead soldiers lying about. The smell of burning flesh and blackened corpses gives him slight nausea but drives him deeper into a state of utter madness.

"Chaos…" He whispers as he holds his mouth and stares about with wide eyes. "They're so brutal and swift. To…to think that this how the old regime was…yes…yes…that's how it should have been. We would have been undefeatable!"

The man begins to laugh hysterically as he continues looking around at he dead.

"A whole world at our disposal! They would have built statues of us…made us the crowning glory of the German might…Gods…yes…we would have been GODS!"

The echo of his voice through the snowy, ice-laden corridors of the alien craft bounce through as the sound the weapons fire ahead merges with it.

"I would have ruled the world…I…I will still rule the world. Megatron is the key…yes…Megatron shall help me continue my plans. My time will come…patience…patience…let them do all the work and then…yes…yes I will be the ruler of all things."

Archeville gave a short sniffle and then straightened himself in a more relaxed yet proud manner. Holding on to the lapels of his jacket like a gifted scholar, he strutted past the never-ending ruins of debris and bodies smoldering beside him and gave an eerie smile as he continued to think of his future destiny.

Megatron finally reached the door they were headed for and looked at it with curious eyes. The humans below him were still pounding away with their weapons and even their fists; they were desperate at this point to stop him, even if it meant using themselves to do it. Megatron never even gave them a second thought; he just stared at the door and looked over at Soundwave coming up beside him as he waited for the others to catch up.

"Are you sure this is the bridge of the vessel?" Megatron asked.

"Positive…" Soundwave's voice resonated in the monotone pitch.

"Then lets see what the fuss has been all about then." Megatron smirked, as he looked back the door.

The leader brought his arm cannon and pointed it at the large metal door. The human soldiers all gasped as they saw him aim directly in their path and realized that this was the end for all of them. With one mighty blast of power, the fusion cannon took out the door in a massive explosion of hot metal and debris. Screams of the men who had been standing in front and behind the door rang out as it ripped apart and then became deafly silent as it finished. With nothing left in Megatron's path, he stepped through the burning archway and now entered the room with a proud look.

"And now…Project N is mine. Victory to those who deserve it! Victory to the Decepticons!"

As Megaton and the other Decepticons cheered, they looked about the main bridge and noticed that it was empty, as grey as the rest of the metal corridors and full of wires dangling down from every access opened. Sitting in a chair in front of a massive computer almost like Telatran One, a young man stands up from it and gulps at the sight of the huge metal beings coming closer. The young man is wearing a dark blue coat with a fur trimmed hood, his boots look more comfortable then those the soldier were wearing and pushes the round gold rimmed glasses up as he stares up at them. The Decepticon leader's smile diminishes from his face and now gives an angered frown as he stands over the frightened boy.

"Who are you? Speak!"

"My…my name is…" The shivering man tries to utter. "Chip…Chip Chase."

"ARCHEVILLE!" Megatron shouts in anger.

"Yes…I'm here." The Doctor responds as he waltzes in a calm manner.

"Where is it?" The leader yells as he turns around to look at him. "Where is this Project N of yours?"

"You're in it, Megatron." Archeville smiles as he walks over to Chip Chase and pats him on the shoulder. "This is Project N."

The young man looks at Archeville as he states the fact and then both of them look back over at Megatron who seems very unhappy with that response. The leader slowly growls and then rises to a shrilling scream as he takes his fusion cannon and blasts a hole in the side of the room. Starscream watches his leader's rant and chuckles to himself quietly as he grins with delight. All that way…for nothing.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Devastator continued his destructive rampage on the humans attacking him, the ground shook as he stomped his feet and his giant purple fists smashed buildings and aircrafts as they tried to take him out.

"Die humans! You shall not defeat me, I am Devastator! Your world is at an end…."

"Hey!" A voice says from below the massive green and purple colored robot. "Why don't you go and pick on a robot your own size!"

Devastator looked down and saw Ironhide pointing his gun at him.

"Or how bout just little ol' me for starters!"

Ironhide took a shot at the robot and managed to get Devastator in the forehead. The robot's head tilted back from the blast and gave a slight groan of pain from the burn. Angered by the smaller robot, Devastator took his fist and tried to pound the Autobot into the ground. Ironhide was too quick for it; he quickly transformed and drove away before the metal giant could take another shot.

"Autobot! You shall know great pain when I get through with you! All Autobots shall suffer the same fate!"

"Oh yeah!" Prowls voice now said behind him. "You and what army?"

Devastator looked behind and noticed Prowl with Inferno, Jazz, Windcharger, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe as they all had their weapons aimed at him.

"That's right, Jack! Autobots in da house, time to get it on, sucka!" Jazz laughed.

All of them opened fire at the Decepticon as he tired to turn to face them. The shots seemed to scorch his body and make him flinch at times. But Devastator is too thick skinned to be wounded by their blasts. With the Constructicons bonded together it allows Devastator to share all their energy and form a shielded body frame making him nearly indestructible. So far the Autobots have never been able to properly take down Devastator, their weapons can do some damage, but not enough to critically wound him at all. The massive robot himself smiles in confidence as he is very aware of this fact, with each pounding step he takes towards the Autobots they in turn take one step back away from him.

"Fools!" Devastator laughs. "You are no match for the might of my power!"

He reaches behind his back and opens another panel on his person; it slides back and brings out a large purple weapon that unfolds in his hand as he brings it forward. As it completes its transformation, the massive robot holds out the gun and shoots down at the Jazz and the others. The strength from the cannon was so much that it blew a crater in the ground and sent the Autobots hurling every which way. As they try to recover from the blast, the massive green robot turns his sights back on the fleeing human tanks and soldiers. He points his gun again at them all and fires a shot. The plasma blast streaks across the ground and rips through the armored division frying everything in its wake.

"What ever you're going to do Prime…you'd better do it quick!" Jazz radios to the leader as he runs back in to stop the massive creature. "Cause I don't know how long we can keep him distracted!"

Optimus Prime looks over at Red Alert and Blaster as they stand beside him.

"You know what to do…just be ready for it."

"This is insane Prime!" Red Alert nervously shouts at him. "There must be a better plan then this?"

"I'm open for suggestions…" The leader squints at him.

"Uh…well…"

Blaster knocks the jittery Autobot on the head. "Hey cut the small talk for pete's sake, man! Don't doubt the Prime…just transform and do your thang!"

"Oh…very well." Red Alert groans as he rubs his head from the smack.

Transforming into the red and white Lamborghini, Red Alert turns on his sirens and zooms out towards Devastator. Prime takes a few steps and prepares to transform too, but Blaster holds onto his arm for a second and forces him to look back at him.

"I didn't want to say it in front of him…but…I sure hope you truly know what you're doing too Optimus."

The leader nods at him and pats his face. "So do I Blaster…so do I."

Transforming into his tractor-trailer mode, Optimus Prime speeds out to the battle and leaves Blaster standing there with his arms folded over as he gives a sigh.

"Cause if it doesn't…we're toast."


	11. Frozen Cold

Chapter Eleven – Frozen Cold

Across the snow filled plains of the deep arctic, a group of vehicles slowly ride through the many deep banks and icy conditions of the harsh winter tundra. In a straight line they all follow one another, using the same tracks and keeping their high beams focused on each other's bumpers. The dreaded snowstorm darkens the area like a shadowy specter cloaking them all from seeing any direction.

"Hey Trailbreaker!" The little yellow Volkswagen shouts out to the leading pickup. "How much further? My rear axles are freezing!"

"Don't know little buddy." The black 4x4 enclosed truck replies. "Something is jammin' my radar. I'm just using the digital compass Sparkplug has…"

"Oh terrific." Huffer now moans as he's stuck in between the two in the line. "Some warriors we are…we can't even find our way through a snow valley!"

"Hey it's the arctic" Spike now laughs as he listens to all complaining the Autobots are making. "This mother nature at her most raw element."

"Mother who?" Wheeljack questions as he shivers behind the entire convoy.

"Never mind Wheeljack. Take too long to explain." Spike sighs. "I'm just glad you guys gave us a pit stop in Canada before we continued on."

"Well we didn't want you guys to freeze up here." Brawn now adds as he too is stuck in between the line up. "Good thing you packed those winter clothes to wear…it's going to get nasty cold in this neck of the woods."

"You mean 'In this neck of the ice' don't you Brawn?" Cliffjumper laughs as he suddenly taps the dark green and yellow SUV from behind with his fender.

"Yeah, yeah...Ice. Shut up back there will ya? And stop pushing me for Cybertron's sake…you're peelin' the paint off my backside!" Brawn snickers.

Cliffjumper laughs again and moves out of the linear convoy as he speeds ahead with his tires throwing snow up onto Brawn's windshield.

"You're starting to sound like Sunstreaker! Hahahah!"

As the little red Mini pulls up beside Trailbreaker, Sparkplug looks out the window at the car and shakes his finger at him.

"Hey cut the comedy! Concentrate on the mission or lets turn back right now."

Cliffjumper gives a soft sigh. "Oh, alright Sparkplug. Just teasin' is all."

"Yeah and that's what got you into trouble with Optimus Prime in the first place isn't it Cliffjumper?"

The little mini Autobot remained silent for a second as Sparkplug's comment struck a cord with him. Trailbreaker gave a quiet chuckle and moves up ahead so that Cliffjumper can pull back into the line.

"He got you there Cliff ol' pal. Remember you're not a ranking officer in the Autobots anymore…just a civilian whose probably going to get in a whole lot more trouble when and if we get back home."

"Yeah…" Cliffjumper sighs again. "Just a civilian."

As they continue to dive deeper into the dark snow filled weather, Spike looks back out the rear window and gives a curious look at Wheeljack trailing a few feet away.

"You ok back there 'jack my man? You've been kinda quiet."

"Huh?" The striped racing car responds. "Oh…uh…just lost in thought is all Spike."

"Uh huh…" The young man says with skepticism. "It wouldn't be about those dinosaurs again would it?"

"Dinosaurs?" Bumblebee inquires.

"Nothing…forget it, Bumblebee." Wheeljack suddenly snaps in frustration. "I was just telling Spike one of my passing thoughts is all. Just keep driving will ya?"

"Ok, ok…geez!" The yellow car says as he moves up a bit more. "Touchy subject or what? Guess you're the only one he wants to share with huh, Spike?"

Looking back out the window again, Spike remains silent as he gives Wheeljack another glance. The robot seemed too deeply focused in his thoughts to respond to anyone, something Spike knows well enough not to push any further. It's obvious that Wheeljack is very secretive about his creative endeavors and not one to openly admit about things until he's ready to share with everyone else. Turning back to watch the road ahead, Spike simply zips up his deep red and white winter coat and flips the hood up.

"I think we should all stop for a second to get our bearings. Hey dad?" The young man says as he picks up and speaks into the C.B. mike.

"Yeah son?" The father's voice replies through the speaker.

"Let's stretch our legs for a sec and let the guys transform…it might help them more to move about in robot mode."

"Sounds good to me." The father cheerfully replies. "Suit up tight son…it's deadly cold out there."

Spike and Sparkplug climb out of Wheeljack and Trailbreaker as the convoy comes to a stop. With both humans walking away from them at a safe distance, the entire line of Autobots quickly transform into their alternate modes. Both men watch in amazement as the robots flip, pivot and change form with that unique sound that goes with it. Somehow both of them will never tire of seeing what these robots from space are capable of doing.

"Aaaah!" Huffer yelps as he straightens his back. "That feels better…man we've traveled so far I was getting a kink in my lower rotors."

"I know what you mean Huff…" Brawn quickly smiles at him. "This is one rugged landscape we had to cross. Rock, mud, snow…heh! I feel like my tires need new treads after all that."

Wheeljack walks past the others and stands behind Trailbreaker, the black and silver chromed robot continues to stare out into the dark blizzard.

"Really quiet out here, isn't it?" Wheeljack mentions as he folds his arms over himself as if he can feel the chill of the wind.

"Yeah…" Trailbreaker smirks. "Reminds me of the night we were lost on Terrak Five. Nothing but snow, wind and a whole lot of nothing either way."

Wheeljack chuckles as he remembers. "Good times…bad storm. I remember that was the last mission we ever on, then the war heated up and we needed to stick to Cybertron after that. Feels like forever since we last had scientific mission of that kind."

"Well, that was a long time ago Wheeljack." The black robot sighs as he switches his scanner eyes off and looks around at him. "But with Decepticons always on our case…I doubt we'll ever be allowed to go exploring again. Not until their defeated and Cybertron is free again."

"Yeah." Wheeljack somberly says as he looks down at his feet kicking some snow. "I just hope our world is still there after all this time. I'd love to see if my lab is still intact in Iacon…"

Trailbreaker turns fully around and folds his arms over as he continues to talk to his friend.

"Sounds like you regret coming along on this mission with us…guess you miss being a scientist rather then being a warrior, huh?"

"Some days I do…" Wheeljack sighs again as he rubs his manifold chin. "Creating new devices and technological breakthroughs was my specialty, but I loved going on those missions for research and new energy sources…now it's making weapons and killing Decepticons. Maybe I'm just homesick or dreading what we'll find on Cybertron once we return…but…"

Trailbreaker pats him on the head, the black and chrome robot is slightly larger then the depressed friend and gives him a smile to cheer him up.

"I know, I know…you're a scientist not a warrior." Trailbreaker chuckles as he finishes Wheeljack's thought. "Trust me, you're not alone on that feeling. You think I've always been a soldier all my life? Heck, I was a shipping unit transport…yep…carried heavy loads across all of Cybertron. Nothing was better then being on the open roadway…it was pure freedom. Now look at me…a tough, lean machine that does nothin' but bust Decepticon chops and crashing on a planet light years away."

"Some freedom, huh?" Wheeljack utters as he looks up at him.

"Lighten up you two!" Cliffjumper says as he waltzes into the conversation. "Save the 'boo-hooing' for another time. Hey, Trailbreaker! You locate that energy signature or what!"

"Who died and made you leader of this mission?" Trailbreaker snickers at the mini robot's comment. "But if you're in such a dang hurry…then by all means…try to locate the source yourself."

"What is it Trailbreaker?" Sparkplug says as he and his son walk up after hearing them talk. "What's wrong?"

The others all gather around as he gives a long sigh and unfolds his arms.

"There's…there's something jamming my radar. Its like this whole area is non-existent, I can't even keep track of our own progress. We might be going in circles…or we're right on target and don't even know it."

"Sounds fishy to me." Cliffjumper grumbles as he rubs his chin with concern.

"What about the digital compass you and Sparkplug were using?" Wheeljack asks.

"Seems to be alright…I think." Trailbreaker shrugs. "But even that I don't trust. I got this sort of gut feeling this isn't a natural occurrence."

Spike gives a look of interest and folds his arms as he thinks.

"That could mean we're very close. Archeville will use every trick in the book to stop anyone from finding out his secrets…"

"If it is Archeville's doing, that is." Sparkplug adds.

Spike's eyes shift side to side as he tries to think, his mind is riddled with what to do next and how to proceed. Suddenly he looks up at them all and stands over into the center of the circle they've formed around each other.

"Look…we've come this far. I say we keep going forward until something turns up."

"What kind of plan is that Spike?" Huffer moans. "We could be just moving around in circles like Trailbreaker said!"

"Well it's better then standing around here and not doing anything, Huffer. Something will turn up…I just know it."

Huffer gives a disapproving shake of his head and looks up at the others.

"This is nuts…but I can't think of anything else, how bout you Trailbreaker?"

"I guess I could put my ultra-high beams on and keep the radar on a low setting. It might not tell us what's too far ahead…but at least it will let us know if there's any sort of trouble a few feet ahead."

"Well, lets get back on that trail Autobots." Huffer commands. "Transform and roll out!"

They all revert into their previous car forms and Spike and Sparkplug both climb inside Trailbreaker. The black truck turns on his ultra-high beamed lights as they cut through the storm darkness like a pair of lighthouse beacons. They continue their journey once again and keep the pace a bit slower then before.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Inside the icy grey ship the Decepticons captured, Megatron and his men search about the bridge and begin digging for any sort of worth to the vessel. The Decepticon leader was unhappy with the discovery of this well kept secret, he ripped panels off the walls and lifted heavy Earth drilling equipment out of his path. Starscream searched about the ancient vesel as well, keeping a close eye on the two humans as he over turned bolted chairs from their rusted spots and tired to inspect the mess for any sort of clue. Archeville and Chip Chase stood beside one another as they watched the large monstrosities tear away at the craft.

"What the hell is going on here Archeville?" Chip whispers in anger. "What happened to you? What are you doing here…with these things?"

"Quiet fool!" The mad scientist whispered back in equal anger. "I told you to speed up the process and now we're paying for your stupidity. Why isn't the project ready yet? Hm? You promised me it would be fully operational and ready for use…"

"Well excuse me, Doctor!" Chip quarreled. "This isn't something you can simply rush, I mean…my god…this is alien technology, I had to learn how to operate the damn systems and understand the language to get anything going! I can't believe you would bring these creatures here…I haven't even gotten the other one functioning yet!"

Suddenly Starscream turns his head and looks at the two arguing. The sound of his large footsteps approaching them both makes the men stop in their arguments and gulp in fear. The air commander gazes down at the terrified humans and squints his large red eyes at them.

"What other one?" Starscream inquires.

"P-

pardon?" Chip nervously says.

"What other one are you talking about?"

Archeville calms himself from the frightful moment of Starscream's presence and clears his throat as he speaks.

"You must have heard wrong Starscream. Uh…he said…I mean…he was rather referring too…"

"Silence human!" The Decepticon screamed at the man. "Don't play games with me. I am not some feeble human with weak hearing…Cybertronians have superior listening with flawless quality. This flesh creature you call Chip Chase said something about 'another one'...another one of us you mean?"

Megatron heard the air commander raise his voice and soon came up beside Starscream as he saw him questioning the humans.

"What is it? What did you hear?"

"They were just about to tell me…I mean us…Megatron."

The leader looks down with glowing eyes and scowls at them.

"Well? Lets have it then…"

Chip gave a quick glance at Archeville and he in turn gave one back shaking his head. He did not want Megatron to know of what Chip was talking about. But fearing for his life, Chase suddenly confessed as looked up at the two evil Decepticons.

"This ship…had a passenger. It's…it's in the other room…thawing out. We had to remove the ice it was locked in…the vessel must have been totally submerged in water many thousands of years ago."

Starscream quickly gazed around the bridge and saw the metal door Chip quickly pointed too, a small crack in the metal was large enough for a human figure to pass through, but Starscream ran over and pulled the large metal door off in a furious state. The door crashed on the floor a few feet away from where Soundwave was standing and looked up at the air commander with disapproval. The jet commander stepped into the very dark room and quickly saw the very thing the human was talking about. There, lying on a grey metal table, almost like a medical bay, was a very large robot colored white with blue and red markings. As the commander gasped at the discovery, Megatron stepped in and noticed Starscream's expression.

"What is it Starscream? Why do you recoil? It's as if you've seen a ghost?"

"Perhaps I have might Megatron…perhaps I have…but that's only because…I know him…"

"Who is he?" The Leader inquired as he gazed at the body.

Starscream walked over and looked down at the face of the robot.

"His name was…Skyfire."


	12. Terror's End

Chapter 12 – Terror's End

"Foolish Humans! Nothing stops the might of Devastator!"

The massive green Decepticon combiner roared as he repelled the barrage of fire coming from all the troops on the ground. The humans and Autobots continued to attack the creature together as they poured on the barrage of weapons fire at him. Missiles, machine guns, tank shells, everything they could muster against this walking giant failed to stop him as he continued to rip the area apart. The gigantic robot ripped the tanks in half, stopped on the ground with such force that it flung the troops back for miles. In the carnage, Devastator laughed with delight as if this was a sick form of fun, nothing could stop him now, not even the Autobots dashing round trying to damage him as well. From a distance, Archeville's second in charge, Commander West watches the futile battle and activates his cellular phone.

"This is West…" The man sighs with a twinge of angst. "Is my god damn weapon charged yet? Or do I have to come down there and crank that sucker by hand!"

"Sir, yes sir." The nervous male voice replies on the phone. "Forgive us for not contacting you…the tremors shaking the underground base are rattling the staff's nerves and we're scrambling to get the weapon raised. All hell is breaking loose down here!"

"Screw your assessments Soldier!" West screamed in a vicious tone. "All hell is breaking loose up here as well and there's nothing to stop it! Raise the weapon and kill this son of a bitch before he levels the whole god damn base both up and down!"

After flipping the cell phone off, the sound of Optimus Prime's horn blares from behind him. The Commander looks behind with wide eyes and suddenly leaps out of the way as Prime and the other Autobots drive past the man as they just narrowly miss him; the three Autobots rush into battle and encircle the monster robot while the others help to close the gap in-between them.

"Autobots!" Prime screams. "You know the plan, keep him occupied until I give the word…let's get to work!"

"Yeeeeeeeee-haaaaaa!" Hound screams as he and Smokescreen separate apart and rush towards Devastator at full speed.

Both Hound and Smokescreen unfold their missile launchers from their side panels and throw everything they have at Devastator. The explosion causes the green menace to block the smoke and flame with his hand as he tries to clear the air and target them with his eyes. Through his ruby colored vision, he takes aim with his massive weapon and fires at them at point blank range. The laser shatters the ground as they swerve out of the way and nearly makes them loose their balance. Optimus Prime steers past the smoldering crater as he drives near and uses his mirrors to see the two Autobots he needs behind him.

"Red Alert and Sideswipe keep in front until I give the signal." Prime again orders out loud.

"Rodger that Prime." Sideswipe replies.

"I just know I'm going to regret doing this." Red Alert moans.

The rest of the Autobots rushed in and quickly transformed into their robot modes. Jazz finally joined the team as he too rushed in and took command of the group firing up at the massive Decepticon.

"Ok Bots! Target that massive 'Con and lets see if we can do some damage!"

As the stream of laser fire bombarded Devestator, the weapon bay door began sliding open on the ground. The strong glow of the energy from the purple canon slowly rising up caught the massive robot's eye.

"Ahhh…" The Decepticon says as he turns to see it behind him. "Now you bring me a gift humans? How thoughtful…I shall use it to eliminate your whole species in one swift stroke!"

Watching from a distance, Commander West folds his arms together and snickers at the giant's remark.

"Not before I use it against you robot. A taste of your own medicine."

As Optimus Prime and the others drive around the giant Decepticon again, they too notice the ground bay doors opening and the weapon slowly rising out.

"Now Prime?" Sideswipe asks as he keeps ahead of the leader.

"Not yet…" Optimus replies.

"Now Prime?" Red Alert repeats nervously as he two tries to manage a swift speed ahead.

"Not yet…almost…"

Inside Optimus Prime, the monitor screen views an image of both Devastator and the huge energy weapon rising up at the same time. A flash of numbers and calculations suddenly appear over the image as Prime quickly sees the answer and makes a target.

"Now! Red Alert! Sideswipe! PUNCH IT!"

The two sleek vehicles drive well beyond Optimus Prime and race ahead to where Devastator stands. Both Autobots do a one eighty and begin driving towards their leader at full power. Their wheels spin enough smoke to cause a massive phloem behind as they speed towards him. Blaster, standing far away from the battle, notices the two cars changing course and quickly opens up his leg coverings to reveal the massive speakers built into them.

"Alright, that's my cue! Time to Rock and Roll!" He yells with delight.

A massive blast of heavy rock music to the tune of "Nothing Gonna Stand In Our Way", a revamped song from Spectre General and now being played by the band Sum 41. The shockwaves from the ultra-high volume music shoot out across the plains and sweep some of the humans off their feet as they get caught in the updraft of it. The music is loud and thumping, the ultra sonic wave hits Devastator full on and begins to make the giant Decepticon vibrate in pain.

"What? What is this!" The green goliath shouts. "The noise is unbearable! Aaaaarrggghhh!"

Optimus Prime still driving at full speed suddenly opens his back trailer doors and unfolds a pair of massive rocket boosters. As they fully unfold, the thrusters engage and send Prime hurling towards Sideswipe and Red Alert at an even faster rate of speed. Both Autobots begin to lower their forward hoods and scrape their noses to the ground. The Autobot leader finally reaches them and uses their hoods like a launching ramp as his wheels touch onto their metal and launches upward. Soaring into the air, Prime switches on his ultra high beam lights and blinds Devastator as he comes straight up into his face. Everyone watches this amazing feet of stunt driving as if it was going in slow motion. The shockwaves were shaking Devastator apart, while the lights off of Prime were blinding his vision as he suddenly turned to see Optimus coming at him; the human weapon behind was almost fully risen just as the blaring sound of the Autobot leader's horn blared away.

"HEAD'S UP!" Prime shouted as he delighted in seeing the giant's surprised look.

Optimus smashed into Devastator's face, the impact sends his head whipping backwards and causing him to fall on top of the weapon in behind. The laser cannon exploded and shattered from the sheer weight of the massive being, together the weapon and Devastator fell back into the open hole below. A flash of bright orange and red flame shot out from the two colliding, as if hell had been opened for all to see; the ground shook from the impact of the two finally hitting the bottom, Optimus Prime transformed into robot mode in mid-air and landed hard back onto the ground. Crouched onto one knee and his fist impacted in the soil, the leader sat in the newly formed crater he made from his fall. The Autobots shouted in joy as they saw the results, their great and powerful leader managed to take out the huge robot in one massive strike.

"Booyeah! You da man Prime!" Jazz howled in the distance.

The humans were in total awe. The soldiers couldn't help but join in the cheering with the Autobots, it was a grand victory that none had ever seen before. West was so bewildered with what Prime had just done, that he dropped his cell phone and gawked with his mouth open.

"The weapon…no…the weapon!" He muttered in his shocked state.

Blaster turned off his music and folded his legs back into their proper form.

"Now that's what I call a Head Banger. Heh!"

Optimus Prime rises up from his crouching position and steps out of his impact hole. Walking over to the gathering group of Autobots, who all transform back into their robot modes, he gives a sigh and cracks his hydraulic knuckles.

"Good work all of you. Especially you two Red Alert and Sideswipe, hope I didn't ruin your paint job too much."

"Nothing to it Prime…I love it when a plan comes together." Sideswipe laughs as he taps his hood with the tread marks still on them.

"That was the most dangerous, most reckless, stupidest thing I've ever seen you do Optimus…" Red Alert growls as he shakes his fist. Then his eyes relax and he begins rubbing his forehead. "But then again…so was my little stunt as well. Ow. I think I'm going to need to have a stress pill and a little lie down after all this. My nerves are shot!"

Blaster joins the group and gives a howl of joy.

"Ooh MAN! That was so cool O.P.! So I guess that petty much ends that huh?"

Suddenly a low growl comes out from the smoldering, fiery filled hole where the giant lays. The echo of it even makes the humans take notice as they all freeze in their tracks. Prime looks back at the pit with wide eyes and then quickly turns his head back to the other Autobots.

"Oh you just had to jinx it didn't you, Blaster."

"Oh man…what now Prime?" Bumblebee asks with concerned look.

"There's only one thing to do in a situation like this."

"And that would be?" Hound inquires scratching his head.

"RUN!" The leader shouts at them all.

As the group hears the roar of Devastator getting louder, they all quickly dash from the area. A massive purple hand appears from the hellish fire, scorched from flames and the metal torn in the fingers, the huge hand of the Constructicon combiner clutches onto the ground above with a tight grip.

"AUTOBOTS! You…you shall PAY for this! I shall crush you all and scatter your remains across this planet! Garraaah!" The angered robot shouts as he tries to lift himself up.

As West continues to stand there and watch, one of the soldiers comes over to him and grabs his collar in hysteria.

"West! West! For god sakes! They're calling you sir!"

"Who is?" The shaken human leader mutters.

"Who? Who do you think? The weapon operators underground! Sir…the weapon is still building power!"

"Shut it off then." He simply says in his confused mentality.

"They can't shut it off! The power build up is too great…it's going critical! Don't you get it? It's gonna blow at any second!"

West snaps out of his stupor and realizes what that means. With nothing to turn the flow of power off or release the energy, the entire area is now a death trap. The two of them begin running for their lives as they call the other troops to move back. Prime sees Agent West running away and notices the rising bright green glow coming from the pit as Devastator continues to pull himself out slowly.

"Oh…my…" He gasps. "AUTOBOTS! DON'T LOOK BACK! JUST TRANSFORM AND ROLL FOR YOUR VERY LIVES!"

All of them transform and begin increasing their speed away from the base camp. Prime notices the direction of West and starts to run after him. The base commander doesn't even dare look back at the continuous glow of the weapon energy build up and also doesn't even notice Optimus Prime reaching down to scoop him up. Devastator, still trying to get out of the deep pit, watches them all flee completely unaware of the danger below him.

"That's right you maggots! Run! I shall spare no one from my wraith…I am indestructible! Nothing can stop me now!"

The light below grows brighter and brighter. Now the giant robot suddenly takes notice of it and gazes down with a wide surprised look.

"What the - ? Oh…shit!"

With that final phrase, the laser weapon explodes beneath him and sends a massive column of green energy spiraling into the sky. The ground throughout the entire valley splits apart into cracks and suddenly makes the pit grow wider and wider with everything sinking back towards the energy beam. Prime finally grabs hold of the human commander and quickly transforms.

"We're dead! We're all dead!" The man screams.

"Hold on, this is going to be one hell of a blast!" The leader shouts at the man gasping for air.

The Autobot leader races to keep ahead of the cracking foundation as the green light pierces through all around. As they finally manage to get just beyond the last one opening up in front of them, the entire area grows deadly quiet for a second, and then the energy soon disperses like a nuclear blast. The force of it throws Prime and all others across the remaining stretch of solid ground. The blast shatters the rocky terrain all around and even manages to reduce the mountains near by into debris as it rips through them all. The ground trembles and quakes as the explosion ends, rocks fall from the sky and rain down on the many still alive below. The green light begins to die down and the earthquake from it subsides slowly; the soft red hue of the molten core of the blast point keeps a dim light in the dark starry night. Now the sounds of humans crying out in pain ring out and mix with those trying to shout orders at the few surviving troops. The Autobots all climb out of the rock they were buried in and some even manage to show that they had saved a few of the humans themselves in the process.

"Sweet Cybertron's moon." Inferno says as he rises up and rubs his head. "That was a blast I'd sure like to forget. Could have been worst though I suppose."

"What do you mean…could have?" Bumblebee groans as he climbs out of his rock and ash. "This is the worst it can get!"

"When you've seen the amount of carnage the Decepticons have done in the past like I have…" The red robot says as he shows the group of humans he managed to save. "Trust me…this could have been a lot worst then it was."

Bumblebee shakes his head and looks at him. "Well, somehow Inferno…I have to disagree with you there."

The yellow robot with his bright glowing blue eyes looks out into the valley as he scans the area full of dead and wounded humans.

"Nothing is worst then this."

Optimus Prime is lying on his side in tractor-trailer mode, battered and covered in rocky soil, the leader groans as he tries to recover from the blast. His door quickly pops open and Agent West pulls himself out of Prime's cab. The man stumbles as he crawls out of him and collapses to the ground. Prime quickly transforms and stands over the trembling man as he gazes at the quake from the destruction. Never has his eyes looked so concerned or so horrified by such a sight. The cries of human suffering ripped into his heart like a painful energy spike. Tilting his head in sorrow, he gave a simple sigh and held his face with remorse.

"Constructions…that can only mean one thing. Megatron."

The leader balled his fist and gave an angered peer into the sky.

"I should have known that crashing the ship into ocean wouldn't have killed him. Now we're all paying for that oversight. We should have made sure he was gone forever…I should have made sure…"

West coughs below the massive robot and makes Prime take notice of him. West was bruised and bleeding from a gash on his forehead, wiping away the blood from his eyes, the man looked up at Optimus staring back down at him. His large robotic hand reaches down at the man and picks him up off the ground. Optimus holds him out in front to show him what's left of this secret base.

"Take a good look!" Prime shouts. "There's your control! There's what you've brought to this world. Death, destruction, and a whole lot of trouble. Technology you humans have no understanding about and destroying life as if you were no better then the Decepticons. Is all this worth keeping your stupid secrets? Is this what you want for your kind? Tell me…how does it look to you? How does it look!"

All that could be seen was the biggest crater anyone on Earth could imagine. It went down for miles as the molten lava cooled and exposed the remains of what was left. The underground lair was totally exposed and looked as if it stretched down as large as the abyss itself. The continuing howls of the wounded people grew as West just covered his mouth as if he was going to be sick. The smell of burning rock and flesh filled the air, but the only thing on his mind still at this moment was…where is Doctor Archeville?


	13. The New Recruit

Chapter 13 – The New Recruit

Starscream hovers over the massive robot Skyfire, a few of the robot's chest panels are open as the Decepticon commander uses his scientific knowledge to repair the large robot. Watching his work carefully, Megatron stands at the back of the room and taps his hand on the side of his leg.

"Well Starscream? Will this friend of yours live again?"

Starscream gives a sigh as he places the panels back on again.

"Some of the circuits were fried, but I believe he will reactivate."

Megatron smiles and approaches the table where the massive robot lies.

"Excellent. A new recruit into our Decepticon army."

"Not quite Megatron." Starscream interjects. "Skyfire was once a scientist of Cybertron, much like I was before the war. He was loyal to no faction. He left our world just as the Decepticons began the strike against Iacon citadel…he felt a war was an un-necessary need and sought to seek out the origins of our species."

"An intellect is he?" Megatron says with disappointment. "Another self proclaimed 'Origin theorist', marvelous…"

Starscream becomes lost in thought as he rubs his chin and continues to talk of his friend.

"He's an idealist mainly. He was always trying to convince me and the others on the science council that our species should be rid of our faction emblems. He always felt they were a reminder of the past, of which he believes is that we were once slaves of another race of beings. Naturally the council disagreed on his theory, there was no proof that Cybertron ever was occupied by another race in our history records."

"With the many wars of our past…" Megatron now adds. "Information like that would have been lost millennia ago. Besides, who cares about the past…Decepticons only look towards the future and beyond."

Starscream leans over and closes the large robot's chest and steps back wiping his hands.

"That should do it. He should be coming online at any second."

Megatron stares at the massive robot with a greedy smile. A few clicks within the massive being and the sound of a high-pitched whine of the power, the giant transformer awakens as his red eyes flash with energy again. A slow sound of his voice groaning gives both Decepticons a moment of pride as they realize they've brought him back to life.

"Where…" Skyfire says as he stirs awake. "Where am I?"

"You're on a planet called Earth." Starscream responds to him.

"That voice…" Skyfire rises up off the table and glances over to him. "I know that voice…"

"Welcome back to the land of the living my friend."

"Starscream? Starscream is that you?" He suddenly smiles and hops off of the metal table with joy. "It is you! Starscream, my friend!"

The massive robot runs over and gives Starscream a huge hug, unknown to him; the overjoyed hug was crushing the jet commander.

"Uhh…ackk." Starscream sputters. "Skyfire! Let go of me immediately!"

Skyfire lets out a deep booming laugh at him and ends the embrace.

"Still the same ol' Starscream. You never did like displays of emotion. How did you find me? More importantly…how did you get here? Earth did you say?"

Starscream brushes himself off as if he's been wrinkled and clears his throat.

"Yes…it's a long story, we crashed here a long time ago much as you did, but we'll go into that later. I want to introduce you to someone."

Megatron now steps in closer as Skyfire suddenly notices him there.

"This is Megatron, Leader of the Decepticons."

Megatron smirks as he stretches out his hand in friendship. Skyfire looks a bit hesitant to shake his hand, but soon gets a comforting nod from Starscream as if to get his approval to do so.

"Decepticons? A faction group much like the Autobots…I see nothing has changed in my absence."

The Decepticon leader now paces around him to eye this new potential recruit.

"Factions are what defines us Skyfire. But yes, you're right…nothing has changed. At least…not yet anyway. The Cybertronian War continues to this day, but with your help, we might just be that much closer to ending it."

"My help?" Skyfire recoils suddenly. "I don't understand what you mean."

"To aid the Decepticons of course. You may not know this, but the war still rages on to this day. The Autobots are our greatest nemesis and are trying to destroy all that we've accomplished." Megatron smiles as he steps back in front of Skyfire. "A warrior like you would do well in our…faction."

"I…I can not help." The massive transformer says backing away from them both. "I'm not a warrior…I'm just a scientist."

"So was I before the war my friend." Starscream quickly responds. "But all things change in time. You left Cybertron just when we needed you most."

"Yes, do tell me." Megatron now adds as he strokes his chin and glares at the sizable robot. "I find it curious that you left our world when it was in a time of great crisis."

Skyfire sighs and tilts his head back as he becomes lost in thought.

"As I said, I was a scientist. On Cybertron, before the war, I had made some significant findings that might implicate that our species was once enslaved by another during our origins. I tried to get permission from the Science Council to let me leave so that I might go and seek out the answers in deep space. But they of course denied me and found my research to be rather flawed. Starscream tried to convince the others to let me go, but they also denied his request and even stripped him of his seat on the council for supporting my wild theories."

Megatron looks at the air commander. "Is this so?"

"Yes." Starscream nods in frustration. "I stood up for a colleague and they took away my position on the council. The Council was always trying to find a way to remove me; there wasn't anything against me to do it…until I supported Skyfire. Fools that they were…I told them they would regret that day."

"I'm sorry for that my friend." Skyfire says lowering his eyes. "But after that incident and the talk of a new war on the verge of beginning, I had to flee Cybertron. I wanted to find my answers out in the stars and not on our world struggling against each other."

Megatron keeps his eyes locked onto the giant robot and begins to scowl.

"So…you are a coward."

Skyfire quickly looks up after his harsh words.

"I am no coward! I chose not to fight! I am a Cybertronian scientist…not a warrior."

"So you keep professing." Megatron scoffs. "But if you truly were a loyal subject of Cybertron you would have joined the battle to end the conflict once and for all. You may keep telling yourself you were only doing what was right…but in the end you betrayed your own kind by turning your back on them all."

"Not True!" The giant robot shakes his head.

"It is true." Starscream growls at him shaking his finger at him. "You and I could have been there together fighting back to back. But instead you left; after all I did to defend you, after the great sacrifice I took because I believed in you…wasn't I your best friend? You're only friend? Why did you leave our world when you knew what was about to happen?"

"Starscream…" Skyfire whispers in disgrace. "I…I couldn't face what was coming. The war meant set backs and I couldn't have that happen. I needed to find the answers to my theories, so I went into deep space to search for them. It was the only way I could prove myself to the Council…and to you my friend. But it had to be done."

"Don't kid yourself Skyfire…" Megatron continues. "To this day you are still regretting that action deep inside yourself. Our world is burnt out and on the verge of death itself. One more soldier could have been the difference that turned the tide, you could have been the one that helped to bring about the end to the conflict."

Starscream nods in agreement. "The Decepticons could have won by now…all they needed was another soldier…another scientist like you. Working together to end the Autobots tyranny and bring about a new world order…a lasting peace for all time."

"Did you hear the voices of the many that died in this war while you were out there in the stars?" Megatron stares at him intensely. "Could you not hear the millions of Cybertronians shouting your name to help them as you traveled through deep space? Don't you feel ashamed that while our planet was engulfed in flames, you were out cruising the galaxy for you so called theory?"

Skyfire broke down and dropped to the floor on his knees. If tears could pour of his eyes, they would have streaming down his face. The giant was quivering and holding his face in sorrow.

"Yes!" He shouted back in a sad voice. "I do regret that decision long ago. But I was no fighter, I wasn't someone who could kill another…I am no murderer. To fight or flee was my only option….and I took the one that seemed right to me at the time."

Standing back up and gazing up at the ceiling, Skyfire calmed down and gave a sigh.

"I did hear the voices…calling to me in the darkness of space. I could almost hear them begging me to return and save them. My research gave me no comfort as years dragged on, in my mind I thought of our people embroiled in a savage battle with one another and it made me wonder if I could have helped them some way…some how. I was a scientist…I could have used my knowledge to end the war, what a fool I was to leave."

Starscream stood beside his contemplative friend and put his hand on his shoulder.

"All is not lost my friend. You have a second chance to redeem yourself and to aid our people."

"Yes." Megatron now smirks. "You have returned to help you fellow Cybertronians once again just when they need your help the most. Join with us…and peace will follow. I promise you. The Decepticons will welcome you as our own and strengthen our forces."

Looking at both Starscream and Megatron, Skyfire gives in to their combined persuasion and nods reluctantly.

"Yes. It is time for me to stop running away from the problems and do my duty to help our planet. I will serve under the Decepticons…but what is the difference between you and the Autobots? Why are you at war with them?"

Megatron smiles and gives a slow chuckle under his breath.

"Let me start at the beginning and tell you about all the evil they have done."


	14. Ice Shield

Chapter 14 – Ice Shield

"Admit it Trailbreaker…we're lost!"

"We are not lost Cliffjumper."

The two Autobots bicker in the freezing cold as they and the others all huddle around one another in their robot modes. In the center both Spike and Sparkplug shiver as they helplessly watch the robots talk back and forth. Both roll their eyes and give a sigh as they're standing out in the cold having to listen to all of this again.

"Alright, if we're not lost…then where are we?" The bitter mini-bot shouts.

"We're in the Arctic stupid." Brawn snickers as he taps the small red robot's head. "You know…cold, snow, ice…ringing any bells in that crampt space in there?"

Cliffjumper quickly smacks his friend's hand off his head. "Cut it out Brawn! I know we're in the Arctic…but this is nuts! We can't just keep heading out deeper into the north without knowing if we're actually getting closer to the source or further away."

"I'm the one in charge here Cliffjumper." Huffer soon interrupts as he points to himself with furor. "It was my call to keep going and if you've got anyone to say somethin' to…it's gonna be me!"

"Ok then." Cliffjumper says folding his arms. "Tell us…Leader! What's our next move? We've gone as far as we can…do we turn back or continue on looking for something that may or may not be out there?"

"I told you we are going to look didn't I?" Huffer now points at him. "I only wanted to stop here so Trailbreaker and I could get our bearings. So zip that mouthy lip of yours or head back home and wait for Prime to comeback to lock you into that room of yours!"

Remembering that he was stripped of rank and supposed to be confined to his quarters, Cliffjumper finally took the hint and pouted without saying another word.

"Now then…" Huffer states trying to relax his tone. "Are we lost Trailbreaker or what?"

Trailbreaker gives a sigh as the same question hits him again.

"Alright…alright we're lost, ok! I can't get an energy signature or even get the dang compass to work for that matter. Its like were…."

"In a dampening field." Wheeljack suddenly speaks.

"What did you say Wheel ol' buddy?" Brawn glances up at him.

"It all makes sense…no magnetic or energy signatures…that's not a natural occurrence." Wheeljack continues to say as he looks at all of them. "Only a dampening field could mask those types of energies, it's a perfect way to keep someone literally out in the cold from being detected. But I wonder…where would someone project that kind of field within such a large distance?"

"I bet I know…" Bluestreak says as he looks up into the sky. "Where have all of our problems with Archeville been most of the time."

Everyone gazes up into the dark, snow filled sky and give a wide-eyed expression of realization.

"Satellites!" Spike gasps. "But I thought we took care of them all in orbit…didn't we?"

"I wouldn't put it past Archeville to invent one that can't be seen Spike." Wheeljack says rubbing his chin. "For a human, he's pretty damn crafty…I'll give him that much. But we don't know how many he still has in operation…we may have only taken out a few out hundreds still hanging in space."

Sparkplug gives a shiver and tries to bring warmth to his feet as he starts to walk out of the huddled group.

"Where are you going off too?" Trailbreaker snickers at him.

"Hey…when a human guy has to go….he has to go."

"Go? To do what?" Bumblebee questions as he scratches his head.

Spike taps on his leg to bend the yellow robot down and whispers the answer in his ear.

"Oh." Bumblebee says with surprise.

Spike just smiles as he watches the robot friend bend straight back up again with a look of disgust. Brawn, looking somewhat curious about what he said, leans over to Bumblebee and asks quietly.

"So…what did he say? What did Sparkplug mean by going?"

"He's….got to drain his oil."

Brawn gives a little chuckle and raises his hand. "Say no more. I think I get the picture."

The group continues to talk as Sparkplug continues to walk out in the stormy snow laden climate and tries to find the right distance to do his business. The icy conditions make his breath visible as he gasps for air from the long strides through the snowy tundra. Looking back he could see his friends in the distance, the walk was further then he'd like but preferred that it was far enough away so that he didn't have all those Autobots staring at him as he 'drains his oil'. A few flinches and a unzipping of a fly, Sparkplug let out a sigh of relief and gazed out into the north wild. The dark storm seemed to mask the entire area from anything a human eye could make out. White was the only thing he could see, not even an outline of a snow bank or an ice ridge was visible to him. It wasn't until he had finished having his pee break that he started to see a dark shape through the misty snow blanket beyond.

Peering out and full of curiosity, the construction worker walked out further to see what the dark mass was. It was moving towards him, that much was certain, and it was getting larger as it approached. Unsure as to what he should do, he lowered to the ground with hesitation and continued to look at it coming closer and closer.

"I can't see a darn thing in this snow Ravage!"

Ravage, the name was all too familiar to Sparkplug. The man let out a gasp as he soon saw the large Decepticon appear out of the curtain of white with the black panther transformer walking by his side. The voice of the large robot was familiar too…as was the name on his lips as he utter to say it.

"Thundercracker!"

Suddenly Ravage froze in his steps and looked out towards Sparkplug's direction. He should have remembered those keen ears of his; a simple whisper and the cat heard him. Ravage growled as his eyes flashed red, he began surveying the area and tried to hone in on where the sound had come from.

"What is it?" The other decepticon asks as he turned around. "You smell something Ravage?"

Sparkplug remained on the deep snow covered ground, his gloved hands covered his mouth as he tried to remain silent. The wind and blowing snow made it hard for Ravage to gaze through; even Thundercracker was having trouble as he used his right hand to shield his eyes from the cold.

"Bah!" He snarls. "It's nothing. Just the wind carrying on…we've got to circle back to the ship."

Ravage agreed and followed him as they both casually walked away into the snowy mist. Sparkplug remained where he was until the coast was clear. He rose up out of his spot, full of the icy cold snow on him, and blinked as he heard Thundercracker's words.

"The ship?" He questioned with concern. "The Decepticons are still alive? This is bad…very bad for us all."

Sparkplug began running back through the snow and then suddenly stopped. His previous tracks were gone. The howling wind and the snowstorm did its job by covering all traces of it. No matter where the construction worker looked, the direction looked the same. Frustration in his face crept in as he frantically looked and ran in every direction. He was totally lost. He dare not yell out to the Autobots, incase the Decepticons heard him and came over. For now, he was a lost soul trying to find his way back. He chose a path to take and began walking swiftly; he had to reach the Autobots before it was too late.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"The Autobots are responsible for the war?"

The large white transformer questioned, as he stood there confused.

"Yes, they were the very reason we fled Cybertron." Megatron replied as he turned around to smirk as he lied to the robot. "They've drained the planet of all the natural resources and killed many innocent Cybertronians with their petty lust for power. We had to leave to search for a new source of energon before our entire world dies out."

Together both Skyfire and Megatron walk out of the room he was found in and back onto the bridge of the ship where the other Decepticons were working. Chip Chase and Doctor Archeville watched the duo come out as Starscream soon exited after them.

"But I don't understand Megatron." Skyfire says rubbing his head as the walk. "Why would they do such a thing? Surely they would have realized draining the planet of energy would result in hunger?"

"They're own hunger for more power is what drove them to do it." Starscream now adds to the lie. "Think about is Skyfire…the more control over the flow of Energon they had…the more they could control the people of our world."

Skyfire stopped walking and rubbed his chin in thought.

"Yes…that…that does make some sense. I suppose."

As he turned his head and looked down to the ground, he saw the two humans standing there looking up at him. The scientist within him began to spark again as his eyes grew wide with wonder at the sight of them.

"Bi-ped humanoids! Astonishing…where did they come from?"

"Huh?" Megatron says as he looks over his shoulder to see Skyfire staring down at them. "Oh pay those creatures no mind. They have little intelligence…the Autobots have been using them as their pets and fodder for war here on Earth."

"Earth?" Skyfire says trying to remember. "Ah yes…you told me that is the planet I am on. So these are Earthlings then? Interesting…what is their culture like? Have they grown into industrialization yet?"

Starscream stood in front of Chip and Archeville and blocked them from his friend's view, he points at him and gives him a stern look.

"Forget about these creatures Skyfire! You're here to serve Megatron and concentrate on winning this war."

"But Starscream…" The giant transformer says as he tries to peer around him. "Aren't you the least curious on the developmental process of these beings? Perhaps they have the capacity to learn and too…"

"SKYFIRE! ENOUGH!" Starscream shouts at him as he pushes him back. "You are a soldier…nothing more. You're scientist days are over. Got that?"

Shocked by his gruff attitude, the large white robot kept back and shook his head in disappointment.

"There was a time you were a great scientist like me as well Starscream. Does that mean you do not stay in practice even in war?"

"There is no time to be analytical when the Autobots still live. Besides humans are a waste of our talents. There's nothing interesting about them…they're mindless, stupid animals that are nothing more then an amusement."

"I resent that remark Starscream!" Archeville now speaks as he listens to them argue. "True, the rest of my kind are mere mindless shells…but I, Archeville am the most brilliant human of them all."

Chip rolls his eyes and folds his arms in disgust.

"Yeah right…"

Moving Starscream aside carefully, Skyfire looks down at them and smiles.

"They can talk! And they have a grasp of humor…see didn't I tell you Starscream? I've always said that the biological evolution of species would result in higher brain functions and the ability to adapt. Humor seems to be a universal concept on every world…well…except maybe Taraxian four…a boring species to say the least."

Megatron looks at Starscream and signals him to straighten is his friend out.

"Skyfire. Its time you began your patrol duty." The air commander sighs at him.

"Huh? Patrol duty?" The bulky cybertonian questions.

"Yes…you are a Decepticon soldier and you are required to do your duty. So do it! NOW!"

His bitter scream made Skyfire look over at Megatron. He could see the leader getting frustrated at him and giving a rather grim look. The large white robot nodded to both of them and walked away from the two humans he was fascinated in meeting.

"What are…your orders, Megatron?" He simply asks.

"Proceed outside of the craft and take over for Thundercracker and Ravage, do a sweep of the area until someone relieves you. Is that understood?"

"Understood…" He nods.

"Then get going…and welcome to the Decepticon faction." The silver leader grins as he places a faction symbol to his chest.

"Long live the Deceptions." Megatron adds proudly.

"Long live…the Decepticons." Skyfire says with a bit of hesitation.

The bulky robot walks out of the bitterly cold looking bridge and cocks his laser rifle as he steps out. Megatron shakes his head with disappointment and looks at Starscream.

"Keep an eye on your so called 'Friend' Starscream…the minute he shows disloyalty, end his life. He is now your responsibility…"

"Understood, Mighty Megatron."

The leader now walks over to Chip and Archeville and hovers over them as he rests his hands on his thighs.

"Now then Doctor…where were we? Ah yes…Project N. Tell me more about it."

"What's to tell Megatron…" He scoffs at him. "You're standing in it."

"Indeed." The leader frowns.

Suddenly Soundwave approaches Megatron and whispers in his ear. The low muttering of the robots synthesized voice makes Archeville curious as to what he's saying to the leader. Megtron's face soon becomes contorted with anger, his eyes peer down at the human below and scowls at him as soon as Soundwave finishes and backs away.

"So…there is an energy barrier over us."

"What?" Starscream inquires. "An energy barrier?"

"Yes…" Megatron growls under his breath. "Tell me good Doctor…why is the entire north cap covered with one of your energy barriers?"

The Doctor laughs sheepishly and folds his arms defiantly.

"I don't know what you mean…energy barrier? I know nothing about it."

Now the Leader bends down to him and brings his face closer.

"Oh but I think you do. It is twice the size since the last one you tried to use against us when we first encountered you. But it seems this one is much stronger as well…one that can block magnetic readings."

"Doctorrr…." Chip says with fear as he leans over to him.

"Be quiet you fool." The old man snaps.

Megatron sensed the tension between them and quickly scooped up Chip Chase in his hands. Chip gave a scream as the robotic hand of the leader slowly tightened around him. As he was lifted up, Archeville watched as the young man trying to pry himself out of the silver leader's hand as he stood back up.

"I think there is more to this Project then meets the eye." Megatron states. "Tell me what it is doctor…or watch your friend here slowly die in my clutches."

Chip let out a sharp yelp as the leader gave a slight squeeze of his hand. The pressure was slowly getting worst as Megatron closed it like a trash compactor. Archeville just stood there without any expression. The emotionless eyes of his gave no signs he cared one way or the other.

"I have nothing to say to you Megatron. This is the Project…this is all there is."

Chip screams again as the pressure once again increases.

"Reconsider that last thought doctor…" Megatron growls as his eyes burn red. "Or watch your friend die!"


	15. Ride to War

Chapter 15 – Ride To War

Area 51

The large smoldering crater sits like a pinpoint of a major bomb blast, the sheer depth of it shows all the levels the underground structure had and all the people that once worked inside of it. The Autobots used their grappling hook arms to lower down and rescue the survivors; Ratchet remained on the surface near the crater's edge and tended to both the wounded and the dead. The human medics, the ones that survived as well, also helped where they could. It was a field of bodies and screaming wounded that reminded many soldiers of the wars of old. Prime remained standing on the edge of the devastation and looked at it all as he folded his arms.

"All this just to keep a damn secret." He mutters.

"Not just any secret Optimus…secrets to keep humanity safe."

Looking down beside him, Prime sees Commander West limp up to join him as they both assess the damage.

"The very reason why this place was created, so that we could ensure that the rest of human kind would never be exposed to this kind of horror."

"I sincerely doubt that." Prime snickers. "You amaze me…you believe you're doing all this for the greater good, that you'll protect the Earth by keeping things locked away and living in your delusions. Meanwhile, your race suffers through wars, acts of terror, diseases and starvation all because you won't share the technology or new discoveries with everyone. That's not being protective. That's being superior to all else. A unique little club with only the most elite members."

Prime looks away from him in disgust.

"You're a sad individual, West. A follower of a madman like Archeville."

West stays silent and just continues to look out at the craters that once housed the massive multi-leveled underground base. In the back of his mind, he knew Prime was right. They kept things; dark secrets, medical cures and even technology that might have propelled humanity further than anyone dared dream. But in the end, Archeville was always there to keep it shelved and left hidden for no one to use. After witnessing the power the energy cannon and the thousands of dead soldiers laying about the place, that moment of shame passed. He gave the Autobot leader an answer that he was proud to admit.

"At least Archeville new what he was doing. You on the other hand Optimus Prime…charged in here without a single thought of what could occur…or even to the safety of my men."

Prime seemed shocked by that remark and knelt down to the man as his eyes flashed a bright blue in anger.

"I knew exactly what was going to happen, Commander West! I'm only sorry to say, that none of you could comprehend what sort of weapons you were getting your hands on. Project N is over…finished…and good riddance I say."

West let a smirk creep upon his face.

"Who said this was Project N Optimus?"

"What?" The leader suddenly says as his eyes dim from the brightness they shone. "What do you mean?"

"Project N…" The commander continues with his arms folding back. "Its not here. This is only a secondary site. More like a station built to house the many things taken from Project N."

Prime stands up and continues to look shocked.

"Taken? There's more to this secret? Tell me West….tell me where is Project N, the real Project…no more of these games of yours."

"Why should I tell you?" He says turning away from him. "I think it would be better never to let you know."

Suddenly Bumblebee calls the Autobot leader on his inner communication linkup.

"Optimus…"

Prime raises his right hand and presses it against the right side of his head.

"Go ahead?" He answers back.

"We've been trying to hail Autobot headquarters and getting no response. It's like nobody is there."

Prime sighs as his eyes lower a bit.

"Keep trying…I'll join you all below in a minute. Oh and Bumblebee…have you found any trace of the Constructicons? I don't want to leave any thing behind here…"

Prime looks over at West as he too looks up at him.

"Just in case they get any funny ideas of stealing Decepticon technology for themselves."

"After that blast Prime…" Bumblebee snickers. "I'd be surprised if there was even a smear of them left. But we'll keep looking to be sure. Bumblebee out."

Prime turns off the inner communicator and folds his arms as he continues talking to the human base commander.

"You know…another thought has just crossed my mind."

"Do tell Prime." The man said rolling his eyes.

"If the Decepticons are alive…and Megatron as well…don't you think they'd know about Project N too?"

The man laughed at the thought, but then quickly stopped as he suddenly got the notion the Autobot was right.

"Don't you find it rather disturbing that Devastator came to destroy this place?" Optimus continues to say as West listens with his back turned. "Why would he do that? More to the point…why was he so interested in your energy cannon? He wanted you to expose that weapon…it was a ruse to get you to raise it up and then…take it from you."

West's eyes grow wide with realization.

"Take it? No…no that's a lie. He wanted to destroy it…the Decepticons were mad at us for shooting them down."

Prime shook his head negatively at the confused human.

"No commander. Devastator was here to find the weapon…and bring it back to Megatron. If he had wanted to destroy it…there wouldn't be the long drawn out battle that ensued. He was toying with you….making you resort to bringing it out and trying to use it on him. But…why would he want the cannon so badly? That's the question isn't it West? If this is only the second part of the project…then where do you think the other Decepticons are?"

"Oh my god." The man utters in horror. "It's not possible…they couldn't know…unless….unless…"

"Yes?" Prime questions.

The man slowly turns around and stares blankly at him.

"Unless they found Archeville and made him reveal where the project was!"

Covering his mouth, Commander West quickly feels ill at the thought. Optimus Prime unfolds his arms and places them on his hips. Nodding in agreement, he too thinks the worst has happened.

"Found him, used him, perhaps even killed him. If there's one thing Megatron is notorious for…it's exposing secrets to his advantage."

"Optimus Prime." West now says firmly. "This is a serious problem…you have to stop them. If Project N falls into their hands…"

"Are you trusting us now with this Commander?" Prime says as he kneels back down to him again. "I would have thought you wouldn't share this information with even the likes of us."

"Spare me the sarcasm, Autobot." West grumbles. "This is definitely grim for both of us."

"Then tell me where it is, West. Where is Project N?"

The man purses his lips and gives a hesitative look.

"I can't believe I'm telling you this…North. The project is in the Arctic…in the most Northern part of the pole to be exact."

"You'd better be telling me the truth this time West." Prime says to him.

"This time Optimus…I dare not…for all our sakes."

Prime nods and rises back up again. He soon rushes down off down to the other Autobots who only just now rise out of the crater with the last of the wounded. Gathering in one spot after everyone was brought out. The Autobots gave a handshake to one another for a job well done and even gave a stretch from all the work.

"Man is my back just on the last spring coil…" Blaster breathes out. "Next time you guys wake me out of a coma…don't bring me along to more of these hard missions."

"You've got it easy buddy." Inferno laughs. "Try putting out a million fires at once…my coolant must be nothing but vapors now."

"Hey!" Ironhide shouts in his southern-like twang. "Here comes Optimus! Funny how he shows up when all the hard work is over. Ain't that right Prime?"

Prime finally reaches them all and tries to quiet them down as they laugh at Ironhide's humor.

"The hard work isn't over yet everyone. Pay attention all of you."

"What is it Prime?" Hound asks with concern.

"We're heading to the north pole."

"The north pole?" Sideswipe laughs. "We need to pay a visit to the human called Santa Claus?"

"Who the heck is Santa Claus?" Red Alert says nervously. "Is he hiding deadly secrets too?"

"No…" Prime replies in a stern tone. "But it is where this never ending cycle of lies ends. Project N is stationed there…and that is where we must go to end this threat once and for all."

"How do you mean Prime?" Prowl asks rubbing his chin.

Optimus takes out his gun from the side panel of his leg that opens. Bringing it out and pulling back on the energy chargers, the looks at the others and holds the heavy weapon up onto his shoulder.

"I'll explain it all to you on the way. Autotbots…mount up. We're going into action again…and you can bet that Deceptions will be waiting for us."

"Alright!" Ironhide says pushing his fist into his other hand. "Now I gotz me a reason to get my knuckles lined up."

Prime raises his weapon up over his head and shouts his now infamous command.

"AUTOBOTS! TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT!"

The united sound of them all reverting to their other forms fills the air. The human soldiers all watch them in amazement; it was hard to fathom how these robots change so quickly and into everyday looking vehicles. Still they were rather humbled by theses 'robots in disguise', if it hadn't been for Optimus and his bunch, Devastator would have surely killed them all.

Optimus Prime looked back and saw West slowly walking over to him.

"Optimus!" He shouts. "One more thing. Don't ever attempt to interfere with our operations again. Remember this isn't your world…it's ours…you're just a visitor from another planet."

"And yet commander…." Prime adds. "Here we are cleaning up your planet from the mess you've made of it. We may only be visitors…but something tells me you're just as alien to your own kind then any of us are."

Prime transforms into his tractor-trailer mode and rides out ahead of the Autobot group. Together they increase speed down the dusty, dirt valley and zip away into transwarp as they head to the Arctic.

West slicks back his hair and tries to wipe the dirt from his clothes. The dust they stirred up is left all over him, he spits out all the grit that flew into his mouth and takes out a cell phone from his inside pocket. It's black with a green neon circle on its faceplate. He flips it open and instantly communicates with the person on the other end.

"This is West."

"Yes sir?" The male voice says on the other end.

"Did you get the items out of Level 13?"

"As you instructed before the blast hit sir. Yes."

"Good." He smiles. "I'll join you soon at the lab when we've cleaned up here. At least there's still one secret we can hold on too without anymore interruptions."

"Aye sir. Over and out."

Flipping the phone back and placing it in his jacket pocket again, the commander lets out a sigh of relief and walks away.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Just beyond the rocky plateau of Area 51, scattered all around the large sand valley lay green metallic parts, and a large head sticking out half buried in the ground. The head is that of Devastator, the large Decepticon that was caught in the blast is now laying in ruins all over the ground. The look of surprise is still on the face of the mighty being, his red eye shield cracked and burned and still smoldering away. The Constructicon was blown back into his separate individuals once again as they lay there half-transformed and missing limbs of their own.

"Ooh…what….what happened?" A robotic voice speaks from the debris.

"What do you think happened Scrapper!" Hook's voice shouts. "We got our butts kicked you ninny!"

Rising up and out of the sand sits Scrapper, the leader of the Constructicon gestalt team.

"I feel like someone just dragged my head across the plasma fires of hell itself. Can you transform Hook?"

The transformer tries to unfold from being the torso of Devastator, no longer attached to the head and lying on his side, Hook slowly and painfully reverts back to his robotic state.

"Uhg…aaah….rrraaahh! Well…that was an embarrassing moment in Constructicon history. Devastator defeated…by humans."

"You mean Autobots." Scrapper quickly corrects him as he walks over to help him up. "Don't forget it was Optimus Prime that drove Devastator back into the weapon. Not the humans. They would have been slaughtered had it not been for the Autobots showing up."

"Indeed." Hook nods in frustration. "Wait a minute…how the heck did you manage to survive? For that matter…how did any of us?"

"I…I can fill you in on that!" Another Constructicon says as he rises up out of the dirt.

"Ok, Mixmaster…" Hook sighs as he rests his fingers against the bridge of his robotic nose. "Let's here your amazing tale of how we survived a full powered blast from an energy cannon…."

As the fellow Decepticon stands up, he begins to search for his right arm that was blown off of him and continues to explain to them.

"Our bodies are covered in a rare alloy I procured on Tallus Minor during our last mission before we were recalled to Cybertron. I found it had a very dense molecular structure and was very immune to intense heat. Naturally it was too good of an opportunity to pass up…so I gathered as much as I could and brought it back home to refine in my lab."

"Are you serious?" Scrapper scoffs as he and Hook look for the others in the sand. "There is no such metal of that kind. If there was I would know about it."

"Ha!" Mixmaster scoffs. "You only know of common elements my friend. I, on the other hand, am a skilled chemist and geologist and know a lot more then you on such things."

"Now is not the time to boast Mixmaster….besides…" Hook now adds as he discovers Longhaul's hand moving about and begins pulling him out. "Uhhh…that still doesn't explain…gaah…how you managed to apply it to us. If memory serves…I don't remember us being together to be coated with your material."

Mixmaster laughs and reattaches his arm as he discovers it.

"Well, I've been slowly adding it to our bodies every time we've been repairing or putting on a new coat of paint to ourselves. It took a bit of time to do it, but now we're completely treated with the metal."

"Sneaky." Longhaul says as he finally gets out of the ground. "Very sneaky of you Mixmaster."

"Thank you." The chemical expert nods. "All in a day's or in this case…centuries work. Heh!"

Scrapper gives a sigh and sits down on the ground.

"Yes…if Megatron ever found out you've been using that compound for us alone…he'd make sure you where put offline for good."

"Which is why I had to do it in such discreet manner Scrapper. I only had enough to do all of us…and even that was stretching every ounce I had left."

Hook still looks around the ground and suddenly stops as he finds one of their own again.

"Ugh! I think I've found Scavenger…or what's left of him."

Scrapper gets up and runs over to have a look.

"Looks like he took the brunt of the blast. So much for your metallic coating on him Mixmaster…"

The other Constructicons walk over and all gaze at their friend laying in pieces.

"I didn't say it would completely shield us…." Mixmaster confesses. "Just give us enough to protect our bodies from melting."

"Hey, your right." Hook says crouching down and expecting the body. "There's not even melted bolt on his frame. Incredible. This should make it easy to repair him."

"Excellent…" Scrapper nods. "Well done Mixmaster, finally we have an advantage over our Decepticon brethren!"

"Ok, so we found Scavenger….so where's Bonecrusher?" Hook sighs.

"Yo! Over here!" A voice cries out in the distance.

A few feet away is Bonecrusher, his body ripped in half as he tries to crawl over to them with only his arms to use.

"I think the other half of me is down farther!"

"So much for the might of the Constructions." Scrapper says with disappointment. "Now we have to rebuild Devastator from scratch and get our unification modes back online."

Hook picks up the struggling Bonecrusher and flings him over his shoulder.

"Look at it this way Scrapper…this time we can make some improvements to him and make him even stronger."

Scrapper strokes his chin in thought.

"Hmm…good idea Hook. This world may yet yield some new raw materials we could acquire to give Devastator an advantage."

As the group finally comes together and all their parts are found, the Constructicons use their flight capability to rise out of the canyon and head out into the sky.

"Back to base everyone…" Scrapper commands. "Our time will come again soon."

"What about Devastator's head? We can't just leave it there!" Scavenger whines.

"Be grateful we don't leave you there too…" Hook replies. "And stop moving about will you…I can't fly with you shifting all over me!"

"I can't get comfortable!"

"Tough!" Hook shouts.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Stop! Please! You're crushing me!"

The painful plea of Chip Chase was lost on the Decepticon Leader as he continued to squeeze the young man slowly. Megatron wasn't even looking at him as he begged to stop. Instead the Decepticon leader was fixated on Archeville below, who even now refused to tell the leader anything further about Project N.

"Tell me Doctor….NOW! Or this one shall die!" Megatron demands.

"Go ahead…he means nothing to me." The old man says folding his arms and turning away.

"What!" Chip shouts as he hears the doctor.

Megatron's fury now begins to subside as a smirk appears on his face and looks over at the young man in anguish.

"It appears you are as worthless to him as you are to me. Very interesting. The doctor has streak of common sense after all."

With that, Megatron release Chip from his grip and lets the young man fall to the frozen metal ground. The boy scream in pain as he feels the impact and grabs his body in reaction to the forceful drop.

"You can torture everyone I have Megatron. It will not change my answer one way or the other." Archeville snickers.

Megatron continues to hover over him and then flips a panel open on his arm.

"I won't have to doctor. I had hoped you'd do this the easy way…by confessing the answer I seek before I slaughter all those around you. But I see you have no moral ethic about you…which in itself…is a personality trait I thought only I had. But no matter…perhaps this will finally convince you…"

On the inside of his arm panel were a glowing red buttons, a small electronic screen and a rhythmic sound that pulsated. Megatron pressed one of the three red buttons and watched Archeville react. Suddenly the man held his head and screamed in pain. The small nodules on his skull cap lit up in a bright white light and sparked with blue bolts of energy.

"What? WHAT IS HAPPENING!" He howls in sheer pain.

"My little contribution to your upgrade, doctor." Megatron smiles. "Did you really think I would let you live without telling me all of your secrets? This is my way of keeping you on a tight leash."

Megatron presses yet another one of the red buttons and the power increases on Archeville's deadly skull cap.

"DON'T! PLEASE STOP! I BEG OF YOU….I BEG YOU MEGATRON!"

"Yes Doctor." Megatron laughs. "Beg for your life….isn't interesting how you are willing to trade the lives of others…but not your own."

"P-p-please…have mercy!" Archeville shouts again.

"Give me what I want Archeville." The leader states without emotion. "Tell me about Project N…and I will stop your pain. For now at least."

The doctor nods furiously and continues to wiggle onto the ground as the shots of energy into his brain fry his senses. Megatron smirks with satisfaction and turns off his remote link. Archeville sighs with relief and twitches now and then as the energy blots die down.

"We must thank Starscream for such a wonderful job. Who knew he'd beable to tap into that frail organic mind of yours and hardwire you brain to do my bidding?"

Starscream bows to the Decepticon leader as he looks over and then laughs at the two humans lying on the ground.

"Pathetic isn't Megatron. Humans are such frail creatures…it's going to be so much fun destroying them all."

"Ah but first…" Megatron says as he wiggles his finger negatively. "We must not get ahead of ourselves Starscream. The Autobots must be destroyed…then we can take this world for our own."

Crouching down to Archeville, Megatron stares at him as the man turns to look up at the evil robot's face.

"Now then doctor…as you were about to say….Project N?"

The doctor gulps in fear and quivers as he notices the leader bringing his finger back to the red button on his arm.

"I…I...will take you there."

"Tsk, tsk…I've heard that one before…" Megaton says sarcastically. "While this ship is a grand find…I do believe you leading us to another dead end would be a serious mistake on my part, don't you agree?"

"I promise…" He cries. "I won't let you down again."

"Give me the exact location doctor….no more delays, no more deceptions, no more hidden secrets. And…"

The leader pauses as he gazes up beyond the ceiling of ship.

"No more of these cursed satellites of yours."

Soundwave stands near as Megatron flips into his gun mode and resizes down to fit into the awaiting robot's hand.

"Target that space junk and destroy it Soundwave." Megatron says in his transformed state.

"As you command, Megatron." The cycloptic robot nods.

Soundwave points the gun to the ceiling and uses his inner sensors to pinpoint the location of the main source of the object. While the dampening field may block the energy and magnetic frequency, Soundwave is equipped to locate an object through various filters that can locate an object thousands of miles away. The accuracy of his target might be less then perfect, a few shots is all it will take to bring the object down.

"Fire!" Megatron orders.

Squeezing the trigger, the massive energy blast rips through the ship, out through the cold snow weather and up into the stratosphere. The fist shot misses the satellite completely, but two more come streaking up from the cold frozen ship and both seem to do the job as it obliterates the object and turns it into a burning blaze that streaks down to the Earth.

"Target has been eliminated!" Soundwave says as he lowers the weapon.

"No….no…" Archeville moans.

Megatron transforms back into his robot mode, as he becomes his full size once again.

"Now we shall see the truth doctor…now we shall see the truth."

Glaring back down at him again, Megatron's eyes grow a demonic bright red.

"What is Project N? Tell me…right now."

The man cowers in fear and looks at him.

"You'll find it at the center of the polar cap…." He whimpers. "Without the dampening field…it shouldn't be too hard to spot now."

Megatron laughs in delight and looks over at the other Deceptions.

"Victory is ours! Come Decepticons….Project N awaits!"


	16. Snow Blind

Chapter 16 – Snow Blind

"Did you see that?"

Bumblebee gasps as he points to the sky.

"That looked like massive energy blast not too far from here." Wheeljack states as he too looks up. "I can also make out debris heading back to Earth in my optical visuals. It definitely took out something."

"Wait a second…" Brawn says in confusion. "If you can see that…does…does that mean we can finally get our bearings?"

Trailbreaker flips his arm panel open and taps on the various buttons inside of it. A holographic screen appears above the opened arm and shows a graphic display of the area.

"Well I'll be a Cybertronian grease monkey…" He snickers. "Sensors are back on and so is the compass!"

Cliffjumper grabs the larger robot's arm and brings it down to his eye level.

"Hey yeah! And look…there are those energy signatures again. The one's that led us up here!"

Pulling his arm back up, Trailbreaker quickly flips the panel close and looks scowls at the little red robot.

"Do you mind? I don't need your grubby hands all over me…"

Huffer taps his head as he spurs a thought.

"This is getting serious guys. A major blast comes out of the middle of the arctic, something is destroyed high above…"

"Like a satellite…" Brawn adds.

"And now the dampening field that was blocking our sensors is now gone." Huffer continues to ponder. "No question about it fellas…this is big time danger we're heading into."

"Then we'd better stop all this guess work and head straight to the source." Bluestreak says taking out his gun and charging it up.

"I'm the leader of this here group!" Huffer barks at him as he shakes his fist. "I'm the one that says what we're going to do next!"

Bluestreak lowers his weapon and gives a long sigh.

"Ok then leader…what's our orders?"

Huffer clears his throat and makes a heroic pose as he steps out in front of them all.

"Autobots! We're going to the source of that blast! Transform and roll out!"

Brawn folds his arms together and shakes his head negatively.

"If Optimus ever chooses a new leader…I hope you're not on the list."

The others all snicker at Brawn's comedy and shrugs his shoulders at the small orange robot as he looks back at him with disapproval.

"D'oooh…just Transform already will ya!"

As the group transform, Bumblebee looks around as he notices Spike isn't standing around them.

"Hey! Spike! We're leaving! Where are ya?" He shouts out in the blizzard. "SPIKE!"

"He's gone to look for his dad Bumblebee." Trailbreaker says as he transforms. "I'll go and round him up…can't of gone too far."

"Naw that's ok Trailbreaker." The little yellow robot sighs as he remains in his robot form. "I'll go and fetch him. They might have gotten lost in this storm. I'll catch up with you guys…"

"Fine…suit yourself." Huffer moans. "The rest of us…move on out!"

The orange Autobot transforms back into his mini-transport truck cab mode and beings heading off north. The others quickly transform and follow him as they disappear into the horizon. Bumblebee lets out a tired sigh and holds his hand up over his eyes to shield the blinding whiteness from his oculars.

"Spike! Sparkplug! Where are ya!"

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

As Sparkplug continues to walk through the snowy valley, the storm begins to die down slowly and gives him a chance to get his bearings. His neon colored orange suit was now nearly white because of the snowy conditions, even though the outfit was designed to withstand cold climates, it still managed to feel ice cold inside of it. He remembers thinking of how much fun it was when he was a kid, being in snow and having fun, but never in his wildest dreams did he ever thing he'd be running around in the northern arctic tundra. As he gazes about to see which direction the Autobots might be in, he takes a chance and turns right to start a new path. Its all starting to look the same to him now, nothing but vast icy dunes of snow and blowing frozen winds that send a chill though him like the hand of death's icy feel itself.

"I'm lost." He thinks to himself. "I shouldn't have wandered off so far. Damn fool I am, I should have at least taken a flare or told Trailbreaker to shine his lights while I went out."

As he continues forward, he soon hears footsteps approach him. Slowing down the storm may be, it's still hindering his vision all around, as he hears the crunching sound getting closer and closer.

"The Decepticons again?" He wonders to himself in thought. "Crap! Got to get out of here, got to find the others and warn them of…"

Sparkplug now tries to sprint though the sea of white snow and tries to stay well ahead of the sound coming from behind him now. The middle-aged man starts panting loudly as the task of running through thick snow becomes overwhelming. Soon he trips and collapses on the ground and breathing heavily, he feels something coming at him now, the footsteps getting closer and closer. Not knowing what to do, Sparkplug prepares himself for the worst and bunches up his thick black-gloved hand into a fist.

"Stay away I'm warning you!" He shouts at the figure standing near as he leaps to his feet ready to swing at them.

"Dad? Dad! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Sparkplug blinks rapidly an soon focuses his eyes, he now sees Spike standing there gazing at him with confusion as he takes note of his father's fist raise up at him.

"Spike? Oh…Spike thank god!" The man says as he rushes over to hug his son. "I'm so glad to see you my boy."

"Where the hell of you been?" The young man says as he pulls him away. "The Autobots are getting ready to leave and your wandering out here alone."

"Sorry son. I tried to take a quick leak….but…I ran into some trouble."

"Trouble?" Spike laughs. "What kind of trouble do you run into out here? Did ya pee on a polar bear or something?"

The father laughs at his son's comment and takes hold of his arm, Spike aids his father through the thick snow as they head back to where Spike assumed the Autobots still where.

"No, no…" Sparkplug sniffs and giggles at him. "Nothing happened like that. No I'm talking about some old enemies that aren't dead. In fact…I think we're in more trouble then any of us realize."

"What is it?" Spike asks as they continue walking. "What did you find out here?"

"Decepticons."

"Decepticons?" Spike stops as he looks at his father. "Here? Alive? But…but how?"

"I don't know." The father breathes out. "But we've got to hurry back and warn the others quickly before they run into a trap."

The two men quickly grab hold of each other and walk side by side in a fast pace. The storm was still continuing to die down and now the outlines of the area could now be seen. It amazed them both on how fast the snowy blanket was giving way, and even speculated on what the cause was.

"I'll bet you Archeville is behind all this, Dad." Spike says giving a quick sniff of his runny nose. "I just know that psycho has some scheme up his sleeve and the Decepticons are part of it."

"Yeah." The father nods. "No doubt this wintry blast is his doing as well. Hard to believe that he can control the weather. But I wouldn't put it past the likes of him after all we've seen of his evil already."

Suddenly the ground begins to shake and the two men drop to the ground. The impact is constant and feels like something is pounding towards them with each tremor. Before the two can help each other up, a large shadow casts over them and nearly blocks out any light shining down on them. The snowstorm finally ends and as they turn to look up, they see a large double-barreled weapon pointing at their heads. The weapon is massive, and familiar in design, and as they continue to look beyond it…they finally see who is aiming it towards them.

"Humans…" Skyfire gasps as he gazes down at them. "Incredible."

Spike and Sparkplug stay close to each other as they cower in fear. They see the large emblem of the Decepticon faction sitting on his chest plating and give a gulp in fear.

"You've developed a synthetic fiber to shield your bodies from the extreme climates. You are very well developed at this stage I must say."

Skyfire's massive robotic hand reaches down to them as he prepares to pick them up. Both Sparkplug and Spike try to run away before he can reach them, but their distance was not enough. The large robot manages to scoop them up quickly and holds him in his hand so they cannot escape.

"HELP!" The father yells loudly. "HELP!"

"Somebody! Help us!" Spike now shouts. "Huffer! Trailbreaker! Anybody!"

Screaming away in vein, the two men are overcome by their fear as they get raised up to Skyfires height. The large winged robot stares at them with confusion and tries to quiet the two down.

"Why are you yelling? I do not understand, I am not here to hurt you. I only wish to study you and get to know you all."

Both men quickly silence as they hear the softness in this robot's voice. Spike scowls at the robot and continues in his attempt to break free of its massive clutches.

"Yeah I bet you do! You want to rip us open and spill our guts out across the arctic for your own sick amusement!"

Skyfire was taken back by that comment and shakes his head in denial.

"No, no…it's not like that at all. Why would you say such a terrible thing? Do all humans think that way of alien visitors? I assure you I am only curious about your species and not in dismembering you."

Sparkplug, also trying to break free still, glares at the robot in disbelief.

"You really must be toying around with us? You're a Decepticon! You're only twisted pleasure is to see us humans suffer to no end."

"Is this humor?" Skyfire says with confusion on his face. "Humans have the oddest sense of this I must say. Why the other two were also not as…"

Spike stops struggling and looks at the robot.

"Other two? What other two?"

"The other two humans with Megatron. They're in my ship and.."

"Megatron!" Sparkplug gasps in horror. "You mean to say that Megaton is alive?"

"Is he to be otherwise?" Skyfire snickers. "If it hadn't been for him and Starscream, I probably wouldn't have ever come back online. He is very much alive my friends."

Both men glimpse at one another and share a feeling of dread. Megatron and Starscream, two names that they wish were never heard again. This was terrible news to discover, with the leader of the Decepticons back and fully functional, there's no telling what is in store for Earth now.

"I don't get it." Spike now talks to the robotic giant. "Why aren't you crushing us to death or trying to kill us in somehow?"

"Not a good question to ask son." Sparkplug snaps at him.

"Kill you?" Skyfire recoils. "Why would I want to kill you? I don't kill organic beings, not lower life forms that have committed on offense to me. What would make you think such things?"

Spike points to the symbol on the robots chest and gives him a curious look.

"Because you're a Decepticon. Decepticons kill humans no matter what. They would rather see us dead then alive."

"Ok Spike…" Sparkplug now grits with his teeth. "Seriously you are not helping the situation."

Skyfire looks at them both with a questionable gaze, he can see that the young human male is serious about this information and tilts his head back slightly as he responds.

"I don't believe you. Megatron and the Decepticons are not murderers. They come from Cybertron, our home world…my…home world. Our kind is devoted to peace, harmony and scientific study. We've only come to gather our resources and fight the real threat that plagues our very existence. The Autobots."

"The Autobots?" Spike questions. "The Autobots aren't a threat. If anything it's reversed."

"Nonsense." Skyfire quickly denies. "I've been told of their various crimes against our own people. They have ravaged our world and slaughter billions to tend to their own agenda. No. These are a savage group of Cybertroinans and must fought by any means necessary."

"Who told you that? Megatron?" Sparkplug now adds.

"Of course. Megatron is the rightful leader of Cyberton, these terrorist Autobot factions are trying to undermine his authority and split our people apart in war."

"That's a load of horse shit if I ever heard it." Sparkplug scoffs.

"I beg your pardon, human?"

"Megatron is trying to pull the wool over your eyes."

"Wool? What is this wool? And what is horse shit?"

"Daaad…" Spike now says as he starts to feel uncomfortable in the robot's massive hand.

"The Decepticons are the criminals that came from Cybertron." The father pounds on the metallic part of the robot's thumb. "Not the Autobots. Optimus Prime and the others are here trying to stop them from destroy all life and draining the planet of all it's natural resources. We ought to know…my son and me, we were there. We've seen the true nature of Megatron and his cronies; they're only interested in killing everything in its path and sucking this planet dry. They're the real enemy! The Autobots are the true liberators of Cybertron!"

The two men feel the tightening of the robot's grip and growl in slight discomfort as they feel the pressure growing. Skyfire is not happy at all with Sparkplug's truth and peers at them with distrust.

"I think you've been corrupted by the Autobots. They've filled your head with this notion and are trying to deceive you all. There's only one way to prove to you that what I'm saying is the real truth."

"Do tell." Spike says sarcastically as he grits his teeth from the mounting pressure.

"I shall take you to Megatron."

Both men suddenly become gaunt in the face as the giant white robot smiles and begins walking.

"He will tell you the real truth and make you understand that we Decepticons are only interested in peace."

"Yeah right. A piece of the world I think he means." Spike whispers over to his father as the commune amongst themselves.

"I should have never wandered off. So much for me ever getting the chance to go to the bathroom." Sparkplug sighs.

"What do we do now? He won't let us go. We've got to break free and warn the others."

"And how are you going to do that?" Sparkplug snaps at him. "We could shout to the top of our lungs and the Autobots wouldn't even hear us. And breaking free…we're still sitting ducks out here in the cold north. No. We're trapped in this monster's hand and there's no way out of it. We'll just have to think of something when we get there."

"That's crazy dad!" Spike starts shouting. "He's taking us to Megatron. The guy hates humans! He's going to kill us right there."

"I know son…I know."

As the massive robot continues to walk away, and the snowy storm completely stops, Bumblebee sticks his head of a snow bank near by as he watches from afar.

"Decepticons!" He gasps. "I've got to save them!"

As he takes a few steps out, he suddenly stops and thinks for a second.

"No…no wait. I can't take on a guy like that. He's far too huge and probably stronger then the likes of me. I should probably regroup with the others and get some back up."

The little yellow robot quickly transforms into his Volkswagon beetle mode and drives off after them.

"But I can't let Spike and Sparkplug down again. I'll follow them and radio the others of my position. If they so much as harm a hair on them…."

Bumblebee's voice trails off as the thinks of the consequences. He's reflecting on the event that happened with Sparkplug in the Ruby Mines of Burma. He felt so terrible for nearly killing Spike's father after trying to protect him with his body that he decided to me more discreet when sneaking around the Decepticons again. He won't allow anymore harm to come to his new friends, even if that means sacrificing himself.


	17. Behold, Project N

Chapter 17 – Behold, Project N

In the icy tundra, deep in the heart of the Northern pole area, a vast number of soldiers in white parkas and strange looking weapons march around the snow. There are large tanks behind them, equally camouflaged in the white and grey of the surroundings as the turrets slowly move back and forth. Scanning the perimeter, the strange white tanks grumble silently as they keep running on fuel. The soldiers all remain quiet as they ready their weapons and keep an eye on the horizon.

"This isn't good is it sir." One of the frozen looking soldiers states to another pulling out a pair of binoculars. "The storm shield is gone…we can't contact home base…and even Project site two isn't responding to our calls."

"That blast we saw took out the satellite." The man replies as he focuses his binoculars. "Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Now there's something heading our way on the instruments…"

"The Autobots?"

"Not sure." The man sighs back. "But last report is that they were all down at home base. Could be possible that they've discovered our ruse and are now coming here to take out the real project."

"Major Bartlet, Sir!" Another officer shouts from behind.

The major lowers his binoculars and spins around.

"What is it lieutenant?"

"Sir, we've just picked up yet another energy surge…." The man states with a slight nervousness.

"Well? Out with it." Bartlet demands.

"Sir…it's not an Autobot signature…it's…it's…."

Suddenly a large lazer blast comes roaring through and strikes the tanks behind them all. The impact sends everyone to the ground as the group of armored vehicles explodes into fiery debris. The Major and the others rise their heads out of the snow as they hug the ground and look up to see two jets rushing in. Like birds of death streaking in the now bright blue sky, the sun gleaming off of their metallic structures, and the sound of their jet engines roaring in the air. The Major knew instantly knew who was attacking him, for even he saw the footage of film that was given to all of them to study. These were Decepticons, but from their apparent markings, they went by another name. Thundercracker and Starscream. The two Decepticon members send a rein fire down on them with their energy cannons, the soldiers quickly scatter to avoid being hit and allow the jets to come past them all. Diving for cover yet again, the Bartlet rises up and screams at them all to get back on their feet.

"Return fire! Get up and return fire! Take them down! Take them down!" The Major howls at them all.

The soldiers do as they are instructed and aim their strange weapons at the Decepticon Jets coming around for another attack. The men pull the triggers and quick rapid shots blast out of their guns. These were no ordinary weapons they were firing with, for these were part of Archeville's arsenal, deadly lazer weapons of alien origin. The millions of streaking green lights hit Thundercracker and Starscream repeatedly and managed to penetrate their metal hulls.

"AAAAHHH!" Starscream shouts in pain. "You little insects! I'll make you beg for death!"

"Grraahhh!" Thundercracker screeches as well. "We've got to turn back and tell Megatron! The humans are too well armed."

"Never! Stand your ground Thundercracker!" Starscream replies as he now spins and dives to avoid being hit. "I refuse to be undermined by mere flesh creatures! If they want a war…then let's give them one they will never forget! Die humans! DIE!"

Starscream barrel rolls and then hurls to the Earth at breakneck speed. Switching his wing lazer canons to missiles, the Decepticon launches both sides and sends them streaking down at the military at point blank range. The missiles hit the ground near a group of tanks and explode in a large fiery ball that consumes everyone and anyone near the expanding radius of it. Screams of the soldiers echo in the air as the lazer fire continues and rushing though the plume of dying blast, Starscream whisks by and laughing in sheer delight.

Bartlet tries to rally the men for another attack, but soon hears a faint booming sound in the distance. As he turns to see from where the sound originated, a large bolt of energy narrowly misses his head and vaporizes the other tanks behind him. On the horizon of the snowy arctic, Megatron and his minions of evil are walking their way towards them all in a confident stride. Megaton holds out his mighty black arm cannon again and sends more lazer blasts to take out the artillery trying to regroup.

"Release them Soundwave! Release and destroy!" Megatron shouts as he fires his cannon.

"As you command, Megatron!" The blue robot nods as he glances at his leader. "Ravage! Lazerbeak! Rumble! Frenzy! Attack…attack…attack!"

As Soundwave taps the top of his chest, the plate opens up on him and releases the four one at a time as they transform out of their former states. Ravage quickly unfolds first and scurries across the ground, gaining speed with each long stride he takes. The animal like robot reaches the soldiers in no time, the cat pounces on each man and rips them to shreds with its mighty metal claws. Lazerbeak zooms in and fires down on the scattering troops and begins to take formation with Thundercracker and Starscream as they zip past continuously. Rumble and Frenzy come running in and tackle the more heavily armed troops to the ground as they mercilessly smack them about like rag dolls. Megatron gives a smile at the effectiveness of the assault and lowers his arm slowly as they all continue to walk in a casual manner. The attack was brisk and brutal, with the sound of weapons dying off; the Decepticon leader gave a chuckle at Archeville's men.

"Such a pathetic display. Is this all you have waiting for us? Is this the great secret army I was lead to believe that would put up the most struggle? How disappointing."

"You heard him." Skywarp says walking behind Megatron. "Our leader asked you a question, slave!"

The black and purple Decepticon yanked on a metal chain, down on the ground trying to keep up with their huge walking strides was Archeville. The old man clasps the noose around his neck and struggles to breath as he is literally being dragged in the snow. Megatron notices the whimpering man trying to catch his breath to speak, and suddenly stops as he turns to face him. Skywarp yanks on the chain again and sends him hurling over to the silver robot's feet.

"P-p-please Megatron! I-I can't go on like this any longer!" The man manages to say as he gasps for air. "Let me walk on my own…and not with a leash!"

"I will do so when I feel that you are no longer lying to me."

"Please." Archeville now begs. "I promise you…I promise you hear and now, I shall not deceive you further. I want to help you. I want to give you what you seek!"

"Oh?" The leader says with questioning eyes. "But I thought you would rather die then see us get our hands on your precious project? Why the sudden change in heart doctor?"

As he finally regains his breath, the old man rises up and uses his metallic claw-like hand to loosen his noose.

"Because I want you to teach me everything. Everything that you know."

Gazing up at the leader, he notices the robot's eyes didn't even change at his request.

"Power Megatron…I want power as much as you do. To gain the knowledge of the universe and unlock the secrets to ultimate power!"

"Power?" The silver robot mutters as he continues to look down at him. "You would destroy your own kind, give up your own military and level this planet to rubble just to achieve the ultimate knowledge of the universe for your own sense of gratification?"

"Yes. I would." The old man answers with insane grin. "After all…isn't that your agenda as well? Two of a kind we are Megatron….two of a kind and looking for the same thing. Ultimate power."

With the sound of lazer fire dimming even further in the background, Megatron lets out a boisterous laugh and folds his arms together as he soon stares at the doctor again.

"You are truly a madman Archeville. To think that you and I have anything in common is beyond the absurd, it's down right insulting. But there is a grain of truth in you, despite all the lies and overlapping hidden agendas in that small feeble brain of yours. And I must admit that your adaptiveness to alien technology is impressive to say the least. You wish to join us now and continue your search for ultimate power, eh?"

As Megatron rubs his chin in thought and looks up at the others staring at him, the silver polished villain gives a simple nod.

"Very well then. I shall be merciful to you alone. Release him."

Skywarp stood shocked by his leader's words and looks around to the others as they too are in awe.

"I said release him." Megaton says again as he unfolds his arms and stares at Skywarp.

"Yes…Megatron."

The black and purple colored robot removes the chain from Archeville and tosses it away into the snow. The old man rubs his neck with his flesh and bone left and nods at the leader in thanks.

"Now Doctor." Megatron says bends down to his level. "As a new member of the Decepticon faction, show us the location of this Project of yours."

"Of course my leader. Of course." Archeville bows. "It's just beyond that next glacier over there. It shouldn't be too hard to spot now."

The Doctor strides away with a confidant grin and holds his robotic claw hand behind his back as he leads the way. With the other Deceptions following, Skywarp leans over to whisper to Megatron.

"You're not serious are you? You're not going to let him live after we've found this..whatever it is, are you?"

"I will allow him to live until I feel he is no longer of any use to us." The leader smirks as he whispers back. "For now we will use him and his technology to benefit us. Once the Autobots are destroyed and this planet sucked dry….then we shall put him out of his misery once and for all."

Archeville now walks briskly thought the now dead silent battlefield of burning wreckage and pooling ice water full of dead bodies. As he steps over one of the corpses, one of them rises up and points a gun at Megatron, who himself didn't seem prepared for any survivors.

"Don't move any of you! I've got your leader in my sights and I'll shoot him dead if I must!"

"Major Bartlet?" Archeville says as gazes at the man before him.

"Doc…doctor Archeville? What? What the hell are you doing here? What happened to you?"

The old man comes closer to him and gives him a hug. The Major seems puzzled by his behavior and tries to keep his eyes and gun focused at Megatron. As the doctor releases him from the embrace, he shows him something he managed to take off from his belt.

"Is this your sidearm Major?"

"Yes? But bullets won't kill these creatures?"

"No, of course not my boy."

He quickly brings up the gun to the Major's head and raises his eyebrows.

"But this will kill humans. Like you."

Squeezing the trigger, Archeville takes out the Major as the bullet exits out the other side of his skull. Without so much as regret, the Doctor simple lowers the smoking gun and begins to grin like a madman. Megatron seems unconcerned about the whole event and taps the old man with his foot in order for him to keep walking. The bodies lie about across the snow, blood soaked and burned. As the massive evil robots continue to walk through the devastation, Starscream and Thundercracker join with them as they transform and land.

"Why are you walking Megatron? We could all just fly over and be there in no time." The Jet commander questions.

"What's your rush Starscream?" The leader giggles at him. "Are you in such a hurry that you'll run the risk of being taken out by any more of Acheville's secrets?"

"Secrets…I'm sick to death of this human's secrets! We should just kill him now…he's led us this far. Why keep him around any longer?"

"Because it amuses me to do so Starscream. Archeville has become more valuable then I first thought, he's given us a glimpse of technology we can use against the Autobots and perhaps bring back to Cyberton for further study."

"Study? Ha!" The jet commander scoffs. "What's there to study? These are primitive weapons they all have, useless to our superior technology, he's just as feeble minded as the rest of the flesh beings on this world."

"Not so feeble minded as to build weapons with alien technology incorporated into them. No Starscream, this one is different from the rest..." Megatron points at him.

Peering back at the tiny human walking briskly in front of them all, Megatron gives a slight scowl as he finishes his thought.

" But we must watch him carefully. Humans are very untrust worthy creatures, they seem to have a creative flare for the unexpected."

"Scared of a human are you Megatron? Bahahaaha!" Starscream cackles. "Oh I never thought I'd see the day when a small flesh being would ever shake the microprocessors of the great and powerful Megatron!"

"Be silent!" The leader says smacking him in the face. "At least he's been more useful to me then you have! Now get behind me…do it!"

Starscream rubs his face from the force of the strike and does as he's told. The frown on his face is similar to that of a child having been disciplined by his father.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Behind a large snowdrift two heads come popping out from behind it. Huffer and Cliffjumper. Both looking over at the cold, frozen remains of Skyfire's space ship. Their eyes were wide with wonder as they saw the bulky looking ship sitting there, but remained hidden behind the snow bank as they gazed around the area.

"You were right Trailbreaker, this is the spot!" Huffer whispers.

"Is there any human soldiers there?" The large black robot's voice says from behind the drift.

"Naw, there's no body there. I think we should just go in." Cliffjumper whispers back.

"No you idiot!" Huffer says bonking him on the head. "We can't just go waltzing in there without checking the perimeter before hand! Now get back there with the others."

Cliffjumper rubs his head and ducks behind the snow again. Wheeljack now joins Huffer as they continue to look.

"What's that over there?" The Autobot scientist asks.

Huffer zooms in with his built in optic sensors and studies the big opening on the side of the craft.

"Looks like something blasted it's way in…fairly recently too."

"Could be them taking something out?"

Huffer's eyes return to normal as the faint glow of blue dims down.

"I reckon so. But it's a pretty big hole for them to be making. In fact I'm almost sure they were blasting their way in…not out. If they were trying to bring something out…wouldn't they do it from the other side? Kinda sloppy if you ask me."

"Well." Wheeljack says as he stands up. "There's only one way to find out. I think the coast is clear…other wise Trailbreaker there would have picked up their heat traces."

Huffer lets out a long sigh and stands up as well.

"Fine…we'll go in. Honestly its like you guys never had training for these sorts of missions."

Cliffjumper runs through the snow bank leaving a hole that shows the others squatting behind it.

"About time…lets stop yappin' and get in there already. My circuits are freezing."

The others Autobots follow behind him as Wheeljack and Huffer continue to study the ship outside.

"Hmmm." Wheeljack says to himself.

"Hmm, what?" The orange colored robot gazes over at him curiously.

"Not as big as I thought it would be. Or well preserved."

"You wanted it bigger? This is pretty big if you ask me."

"No, no…" Wheeljack sighs. "I mean for all the things that Archeville has. The weapons…all that technology….it doesn't quite fit. Not only that but I…I think this is a Cybertronian ship."

"What makes you so sure?"

"The design of it...from what I can make out anyway. But just look at the metal, tell me you haven't seen that kind of hull plating before?"

Huffer walks up close the ship and brushes his hand along the ship's side. His eyes jump slightly as he feels the quality of metal.

"Hey…you're right. This is weird."

"That's not the only thing that's weird." Trailbreaker says as he comes out of the ship after being inside with the others. "I think you boys ought to see what we found."

Huffer and Wheeljack look at perplexed as they walk with Trailbreaker back inside the dead vessel. As they enter in, they see the other Autobots scattered about the place gawking at the hundreds of human corpses lying about.

"My god!" Wheeljack gasps. "What in the name of Cybertron happened here?"

"There's more in the command section…" Bluestreak says as he walks up to them looking ill. "These were all Archevilles troops, every single one of them."

Cliffjumper examines one of the burnt remains and looks at it carefully.

"Their bodies are all fused. Fire didn't do this…an energy weapons did. Plasma to be exact."

"Yeah, looks like Plasma Energy did this to some of them, the burns are consistant of that. But these guys over here, more like a fusion cannon ripped into them." Trailbreaker adds onto Cliffjumper's observation.

Cliffjumper steps back from the corpse and clutches his hand tightly.

"Fusion. And who do we all know that has one of those? One that could do all this to them?"

Huffer folds his arms and shakes his head at Cliffjumper's subtle theory.

"Oh give it up Cliffjumper…Megatron is dead. Prime took him out and he's dead now. All the Decepticons are dead."

"You sure about that?" The small red robot says, as he looks at him hard. "Take a good look at all these dead bodies. You still wanna tell me that other humans did this kind of damage to them?"

Huffer didn't respond. He just remained there looking at the long tunnel full of frozen burnt corpses and stroked his chin in thought. All of them stood in place as Cliffjumper's words gave them all a moment's pause to think about it.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Is it much further yet?" Skywarp groans. "I feel like I'm draining power just from all this walking."

The Decepticons continue to walk slowly with Archeivlle as he leads them all further out into the arctic. The old man should be shivering to death from all the cold; in fact he should be dead from hypothermia. An observation that even he noticed while walking it the freezing snow. In his mind he figured it must have been the augmentations that Starscream gave him. The cybernetic upgrade bestowed upon him that probably included their nanotech technology. The microscopic robots that give the Cybertronians the ability to shape shift and heal quickly. Perhaps, he thought, this is what is keeping him warm. The tiny machines maintaining his body temperature and toughening his skin for the cold climate. A smile came on his face as he realized he was the first human in history to have nanotechnology flowing through his veins.

"Well Doctor?" Megatron says rousing Archeville out of his train of thought. "Are we even close now?"

"Yes Megatron, very close." The old man nods. "In fact, I'm surprised you didn't see that already."

The Decepticons all raise their heads up and see a metallic spire sticking up out of the ground in the distance. Not so much sticking out of the ground as it was just coming out of the horizon of the snow. Starscream seemed puzzled that it didn't look embedded in the ground.

"What? What is that?" He questions. " It looks like…a….a tower?"

As they come closer and closer…the spire begins to look bigger and more detailed in design. They can now see windows on the side of it. And a thicker attachment just at the base of it as it too begins to get larger in size with each step.

"A city?" Thundercracker now questions.

"Here? In the middle of the Arctic? What would aliens be doing planting a city smack dab in the middle of ice?" Rumble says gasping out of breath. "It's Impossible."

Megatron gives a smile and snickers at their stupid observations.

"Not impossible Rumble. Inevitable."

Archeville finally stops and looks at the others coming up as they notice that there is no more ground to step on. It is a huge dug out area, the deep pale green-blue glare of the ice shows the signs of being ancient in its depths. A massive glacier that goes all the way down. And at the bottom of this massive never ending dug out crater, sits a huge vessel of enormous bulk and length. The metal is faded and discolored from being in the ice all this time. The Decepticons all gazed at the sight of it and looked at one another curiously. But as Starscream peers at the ship he suddenly realizes what Megatron is now beginning to laugh out loud about.

"I don't believe it!" The jet commander blurts out.

"Behold, Project N." Archeville states as he holds out his hand in pride.

"Its…its…" Rumble stutters. "It's the Nemesis!"

Megatron continues to laugh in a rather insane manner, raising arms up in the air and clutching his fists, he keeps his eyes fixed on the tail fin of the ship with the massive Decepticon logo still slightly visible on the side of it. The Decepticon vessel they once lost millions of years ago was now back in their possession once again.


	18. Skyfire and the Autobots

Walking through the wintry landscape, the long steady strides of Skyfire feel as if he is covering miles to Spike and Sparkplug, who remain helpless in his clutches. As the large robot comes closer to his wrecked ship, the robot suddenly halts and looks towards the area with his electro-telescopic eyes.

"No one is guarding my ship." He utters to himself. "Where is Starscream and the others?"

As his eyes zoom in on the damaged section, he scans the ship with a thermal filter as he flips his robotic eyes to the color of red. Inside he now sees the heat outlines of the small group of Autobots rummaging around his vessel.

"Those are not Decepticons!" He gasps in amazement. "Who are they?"

Quickly Spike turns to his dad with a joyful grin as he over hears the robot's quite observation.

"The Autobots!" He tries to say to Sparkplug in a low voice. "It must be Huffer and the gang!"

"I'd scream for their help…" His dad replies in the same low tone, "But I'm afraid what might happen to us if we do."

Suddenly Skyfire's head jolts as if hears something else. His scanners now overlap his telescopic vision as he turns his eyes to the right and detects something else in the distance. He then takes cover with the human captures behind a large chunk of ice covered in snow. The massive robot is camouflaged well because of his white coloring and the fact that the boulder of ice is just big enough to hide him.

The Autobots standing outside the large ship also notice the incoming intruders and hold their guns out ready for a fight.

"Yo! Huffer!" Cliffjumper says, as he gets ready for combat. "We've got company!"

Bluestreak stands beside the mini red Autobot friend and keeps his gun ready as well. The other Autobots all come running out to have a look and notice the large plume of snow heading their way.

"Get ready men!" The orange mini bot commands. "On my command we'll take them out and…"

"Wait a minute…" Trailbreaker interrupts. "Decepticons don't come like that on the ground."

As the large cloud of snow finally reaches them and then stops dead in front, a familiar voice suddenly booms out.

"Autobots! Transform!"

The large group unfolds and wipes the snow off to reveal themselves to Huffer.

"Optimus Prime!" Huffer says joyfully. "Boy am I glad to see you!"

"What in the name of Cybertron are you all doing up here!" The Autobot leader points at him. "I thought I told you all to stay at Autobot headquarters…and now I find you at the North Pole…"

Looking over at Cliffjumper, Optimus Prime now becomes very stern and walks over to the small red robot.

"With a civilian who has no right being on a military recon!"

Cliffjumper hangs his head and keeps his gun low by his side. Wheeljack now blocks the leader's path and tries to explain.

"Look Prime, we all know Cliffjumper has done some pretty stupid things. But him coming here was necessary. We needed him because we weren't sure what to expect coming to this place."

"That doesn't justify leaving the base un-manned." Prime states as he folds his arms at him. "You could have at least left Cliffjumper at home to monitor the situation or relay your position to us while we were en route."

"True." The science officer says scratching one of his protruding metallic ears that flash when he speaks. "But wouldn't that be leaving a civilian in charge of the base? I fail to see how it would work any way you spin on it."

"Besides Prime…" Huffer now adds. "We've got bigger problems then you know. The Decepticons are back!"

"I know." The leader sighs as he turns away from them. "We've just had a rather vicious battle with Devastator. Archeville's men were trying to cover up the Project N secret, when the Constructicons came and nearly killed every last human on that base."

As he stops to look back at Huffer, he glances up at the wrecked space ship off to the side.

"It seems they were going to great lengths to hide this from us and the Decepticons. Even killing those that came close to discovering it's secret."

"Devastator?" Trailbreaker says with surprise. "You guys were fighting Devastator? That's a big bit of bad news for all concerned."

"Don't worry about it Trailbreaker." Hound snickers as he stands beside the Autobot leader and folds his arms. "Optimus Prime managed to knock him and that big laser cannon out of commission."

"Yeah man!" Blaster's voice suddenly cuts in.

The mini-disk/CD boom box transforms out of Jazz's hands as he holds him up on his shoulder. The robot unfolds to his robotic form and smiles as he stands on the snowy ground with his hands on his hips.

"We totally trashed them 'cons. It was a spectacular disaster that put a smile on ol' Blaster! Ya dig?"

Huffer just gawks at the orange-red mini-disk robot as he tries to understand what he just said.

"Dig?" He questions. "What in the hell are you going on about? Look we don't have time to shoot the dang breeze here! This ship here is totally gutted out, not to mention full of dead human soldiers."

Prime hangs his head with a great pain in his eyes as he hears the terrible news. More dead humans at the hands of the Decepticons, a waste of life that continually baffles the Autobot leader.

"I think we'd better compare notes here Huffer." Prime says as he lifts his head back up. "I want to know everything you've discovered here."

Huffer gives a slight sigh and looks up at the towering leader.

"We haven't really explored to much of the ship, but the one thing we do know is that these humans….well…they were killed with a powerful energy weapon."

"Like a plasma energy cannon?" Prime inquires as his eyes flash.

"Yeah….and you know who that is."

"Megatron." Prime states as he clutches his fist.

In the distance, Skyfire continues to observe the group as he keeps both Spike and Sparkplug in hand. The giant white robot gives a puzzling look at the two humans as he brings them up to his face.

"I do not know who these others are, but they don't seem to be Decepticons."

"They're not Deceptions." Spike growls at the robot in contempt.

"They're Autobots!" Sparkplug states proudly. "They're our friends!"

"Autobots!" Skyfire says with a shocked look.

Both Spike and Sparkplug gawk in fear as they notice the robot's facial expression soon contorts into a deep scowl. Skyfire now rises up from behind the large snow covered ice boulder and places both men into his lower chassis. The red tinted window section that looks like the cockpit of a massive jet. Inside the men quickly pound on the glass from the inside as they see the robot take out a large weapon from his right leg. The long black double-barreled weapon looks exactly like the one they saw being used many months ago during the first conflict with the Decepticons. Sparkplug suddenly realizes this is the transformer that Archeville has been getting his technology from.

"I think we just made a big mistake son…a very big mistake."

Skyfire leaps steps around the chunk of ice and points his weapon at the Autobots. With a pull of the trigger, he sends a huge double energy shot straight at them. The impact hits just below Optimus Prime and sends all of the Autobots hurling to the ground. As Optimus lies on the ground trying to recover from the blast, he sees Skyfire taking aim again at directly at him.

"Autobots!" Skyfire screams. "You must all be destroyed!"

Prime quickly lunges out of the line of fire as the second shot comes from Skyfire, as he does a roll on the ground he opens up his leg panel and takes out his weapon. He fires back at the massive white robot and manages to get him in the upper shoulder. The newly appointed Decepticon recoils in pain as the blast singes his metal plating.

"Autobots! Take cover and return fire!" Prime commands to the others trying to recover from the attack.

The group quickly dives to the ground and transform to retreat back around the ship to take up positions behind it. Skyfire quickly retaliates with his weapon and blasts away at the surrounding Autobots. Optimus returns fire at the giant robot only to see him move out of the way just in time.

"You'll not destroy me as you did Cybertron!" Skyfire shouts.

"What is he talking about?" Ironhide asks Prime as they both pause after hearing his rant. "He's blaming us for Cyberton's fall?"

"It seems so." Prime squints. "But I'm sure the Decepticons think that way…yet…I've never seen the likes of this one before."

As Cliffjumper aims his weapon, he looks through the targeting scope of his barrel and notices two figures inside the white giant's chest.

"What the-?"

Taking a closer look, he discovers it's Spike and Sparkplug pounding away on the inside glass cockpit window of the robot.

"Oh no! Hold your fire! Optimus! Optimus!"

Prime looks over at the small red robot waving to him from his spot on the ground.

"Spike and Sparkplug! They're inside that guy!" Cliffjumper screams.

Optimus whips his head back at the menacing foe and zooms in with his electro-telescopic eyes. He too can see the two men inside the being and quickly calls out to the others.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire Autobots!" The leader commands as he rises up from the ground. "He's got hostages! You might hit Spike and Sparkplug in the crossfire!"

As they all silence their weapons, Skyfire stops shooting as well and looks puzzled by their sudden action. Prime drops his gun to the ground and raises his arms out.

"We will not harm those humans. Release them, release them now before you kill them."

"I…I will not kill them." Skyfire says in confusion. "It is you who are the ones trying to kill this poor species."

"Not true." Prime replies as he keeps his arms out. "We are here to protect them from the likes of you Decepticons."

Skyfire lowers his gun and looks down at Spike and Sparkplug as they look back at him.

"But I will do them no harm. Decepticons do not kill innocent life…you Autobots are the murderers and destroyers of worlds."

"That's a lie." Ironhide scoffs as he points at him. "You guys are the real killers! Look how you use them as hostages…you coward!"

"Hostages?" The giant white robot questions. "They are not my hostages…I…I only wish to protect them."

Optimus begins to rub his chin as he brings his arms back, he can see the deep confusion in the massive robot and wonders what his true motives are.

"Look…" Prime starts to say. "We don't want to harm them either. This whole ship is full of dead bodies…human bodies…just tell me if you did this or not."

"They…they were killed by you Autobots. Megatron told me you slaughter them."

"Megatron told you?" Prime inquires. "Why did he tell you this? Who are you?"

"I…I…am Skyfire."

Just as things seemed to be calm, the sound of an engine roaring up from behind the robot giant now appears, Bumblebee transforms into robot mode as he leaps onto Skyfire and begins pounding away at him with his fists.

"Take my buddies will ya! I don't think so!" He growls as he tries to strangle hold Skyfire.

"Bumblebee! No!" Prime shouts.

Skyfire quickly fights to get the small yellow transformer off, he grabs onto him and yanks the mini-bot by the leg and tosses him out towards Optimus Prime. Bumblebee thuds to the ground and looks up at Prime as the impact makes him light headed.

"Did I get him?" Bumblebee smiles and then flops his head back into the snow. "D'oooh…"

"Come on gang! Let's rush him!" Cliffjumper screams.

The Autobots all charge in at Skyfire causing the robot to recoil in fear.

"No! I will not let you harm the humans!" He shouts.

The white robot leaps into the air and begins to transform. His body twists and folds into to a massive bulky looking sonic jet of futuristic design, streamlined with red stripes and a massive wingspan that sticks out beyond the frame. A massive tail fin locks into position at the back and gives the finishing look of the overall makeup of the jet. The sound of his fusion engines starting up roars in the air with a high pitched whine, the Autobots below clasp their heads from the noise and watch in awe as Skyfire hovers over them like a mighty space ship. Spike and Sparkplug find themselves being strapped down into the plush cockpit seats and notice a holographic face of Skyfire appearing before them.

"Do not worry yourselves. I shall protect you from them…I shall take you to someone who will take good care of you."

"Wait! You…you don't mean!" Spike suddenly gasps.

"Yes…Megatron, my leader." Skyfire smiles. "He will protect you and keep you safe."

As his holographic face fizzles away, Sparkplug sums up what both are feeling right now.

"Shit! This ain't good."

The Autobots fire away at the hovering massive plane and try to bring it down. Optimus quickly stands in the center of them all and grabs Prowl's gun away.

"Stop shooting!" He demands. "You'll hurt Spike and Sparkplug! Let them go!"

"Are you nuts Optimus! We can't let him get away!" Ironhide hollers.

Skyfire tilts his wings and launches away from them at full throttle. With in a blink of an eye, the futuristic sonic jet is long gone from them.

"You just let him take them to Megatron!" Ironhide shouts as he throws his weapon to the ground in anger and shakes his fist at the leader. "You just let the enemy know where we are! You've…you've…"

"I did what I had to do." Prime interrupts. "Megaton will know we're coming no matter what…but there's more going on here then we're led to believe. So cool that temper soldier!"

"But Optimus?" Bumblebee asks in a sad tone. "What about Spike? What about Sparkplug? He'll kill them both…won't he?"

The leader gives a sorrowful sigh and looks up at the vapor trail left behind by Skyfire.

"I don't know. I hope they will be unharmed, but for now…we can only pray that they'll be spared long enough till we rescue them."

"We could have done that before he took off." Ironhide grumbles at him.

"No…we couldn't have." The leader looks at him. "One wrong blast, one error in judgment, would have killed our two friends for sure. Remember they are not constructed like we are…their bodies are more fragile and easy to hurt."

"That may be Prime." Wheeljack points out as he looks out into the horizon. "But if we're going to win this, some casualties might be unavoidable. Take that ship for example…those humans gave their lives to protect the secret, who knows what lengths Megatron is willing to go to bring it to life."

Optimus Prime nods at his comment and places his weapon back into his right unfolding leg.

"Perhaps you're right Wheeljack. There's more to this Project then we thought, but I'd like to hope as much as I can that no human life will be taken any further for this secret." Prime turns to the Autobot looking up at him and places his hand on his shoulder. "Lets go save our friends from a fate worst then death and bring this Project N to a close for good."

"Now you're talkin' Prime!" Ironhide smirks at him.

"Autobots!" Prime commands. "Transform and roll out!"

The entire group folds into their vehicle modes and await their leader to transform. Prime quickly reverts into his tractor-trailer mode and speeds away with the others following behind him.


	19. Nemesis Concerns

"The Nemesis…" Megatron giggles to himself as he hovers over the massive space ship lying in the icy crater. "How I longed to see it once again. Now the Autobots will be totally helpless and submit to my power."

Starscream flies beside the silver leader and inspects the damage with his optics.

"Bah! What power? This thing is barely functional to begin with. Nothing but hull fractures, damaged fuel lines, missing cannons and not to mention not enough energon to get this rusted piece of junk off of the ground!"

"Details, details Starscream…" Megatron snickers. " Once we get it operational enough, we will simply take all the raw material we need to complete the repairs. Even in it's current state, there's enough here to conquer this miserable planet and survive Optimus Prime and his…small band of Autobots."

As the two Decepticons land down onto the hull of the ship, Skywarp jets over and transforms into robot mode as he lands in front of them. He salutes his leader and stands at attention.

"We've begun surveying the ship inside Megatron."

"Excellent Skywarp." Megatron says in a pleased nod. "What is the condition like inside? Is it still functioning well enough to restart?"

"Still well intact, but many of the computers have been either destroyed or torn open by these human fools."

Starscream folds his arms and snickers at the report.

"Sounds to me like we've got major repairs to do. Still think we're ready to get this flying scrap heap off the ground, Mighty Megatron?"

"We'll be ready no matter what it takes Starscream." The leader grumbles at him.

A small panel from Megatron's chest opens up and extents up to the height of his mouth. On the side facing him, it looks like a built in speaker that has no features other then to communicate directly.

"Megatron to base. This is Megatron to in…" He announces into it.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Decepticon Headquarters.

In the very depths of the Pacific Ocean.

In the large command center still under repairs, the remaining duplicate of Reflector sits in the chair monitoring the communications. The somber look of the robot shows of his depression after losing his other selves in the last battle against the Autobots. With a sigh and slow reaction to Megatron's calling in, he flips a switch to answer the Decepticon leader.

"This is Reflector. I read you Megatron."

"Have the Constructicons called in from Area 51 yet?" The leader inquires.

"No." The lone robot sighs back at him. "Actually they've returned to headquarters just a few hours ago."

"What!" Megatron screams. "What are they doing back? I told them to destroy the base and report back only!"

"They're actually trying to repair themselves, mighty leader. It seems the Autobots showed up and managed to take out Devastator in the process."

"Optimus Prime! I should have known." The leader growls. "Tell those fumbling morons to finish their repairs and join with us in the Northern sector."

The doors to the room slide open and Hook walks in as he hears Megtron's orders. The lime green and purple robot walks over to the communication computer and taps a button as he replies to Megatron.

"This is Hook here. I'm sad to report that we cannot join you…our repairs are taking time to complete."

"That wasn't a request Hook…" Megatron answers back to him. "Patch yourselves up quickly and get up here on the double. Your services are required….all of you."

The Constructicon hated obeying his orders, as far as he was concerned he wasn't a loyal subject of Megatron's rule. Hook and the others have always had other plans once Cybertron was finally cleansed of the Autobots, their dreams of conquest wouldn't become a reality so long as Megatron and Optimus Prime remained a threat to their vision of a new world order. Their utopia was one of constructive perfection, a marvel of engineering feats and with all of them as rulers of Cybertron forever.

"Patching ourselves up isn't going to do the trick." Hook responds with a hint of sarcasm. "We're not all fully operational, so find someone else to do your repairs…the reconstruction of Devastator comes first. You've got more then enough soldiers there to do your bidding…"

"How dare you speak to me in that tone!" Megatron's voice shouts back as the loudness causes a slight crackling in the intercom. "I said get up here now or so help me I'll rip out your very sparks with my bare hands!"

The Constructicon sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose.

"Very well."

He walks away from the computer and heads out the doors beyond. Reflector turns off the link and looks over at the lime green robot leaving the room.

"You think that's wise ticking off Megatron like that? I'd be a bit more careful if I were you."

Hook looks back as he stands in the archway of the doors.

"Oh shut up Reflector. At least our group managed to survive an Autobot assault…unlike yours…how does it feel to be the only one left?"

Reflector gives a shocked look and bows his head in depression. Hook just snickers as he leaves and lets the doors finally close behind him. Reflector looks up at the doors shutting completely and balls his fist.

"I may be the only one left, but at least I will be the one surviving Megatron's wraith."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

Megatron folds the communicator back into his chest and gives a sneer of dissatisfaction.

"Those Constructicons are becoming too liberated in their thinking. Time to bring them to their senses again and take full stock in my threat."

"So what now oh mighty Megatron?" Starscream chuckles. "Do we repair the ship ourselves? Ba-hahahaha!"

Megatron smirks at the air commander and nods with an evil glare.

"What a perfectly good idea Starscream. I nominate you to lead the others in a full restoration of the ship."

"M-m-me?" Starscream suddenly stops laughing as he gulps. "But…but…"

"I said do it…" He says to him pointing bitterly. "And if they don't do a good job or refuse…it will be your failure alone and suffer the consequences."

"But! But!" Starscream begins to stammer in hysteria.

"NO BUTS! JUST DO IT! NOW!" The silver polished leader screams.

Starscream quickly flies down into the ship as Megatron fires his plasma cannon at him to get him on the run. The leader lets out a maniacal laugh and turns around to Skywarp who's still standing near by.

"Now then…" Megatron begins to say as his laughter dies down. "Skywarp, I want you to proceed to headquarters and drag those idiots over here. I don't care if they're incomplete or not…bring them here by any means necessary. Understand?"

"Yes…yes Megatron!" Skywarp salutes.

He transforms into his jet mode and speeds off into the sky without delay. Using his teleportation drive, the black stealth jet disappears in the bright blue sky. Megatron walks along the hull and takes note of the condition of the vessel. A grin creeps into his face as he thinks of the devastation this ship will bring; Optimus Prime and the Autobots will be a poor match against the might of the Nemesis.

"Megatron!" A voice cries out in the distance.

The leader looks up and sees the massive Skyfire heading towards him in his jet mode. As he finally arrives, he transforms in front of Megatron and holds Spike and Sparkplug in his hand.

"Report Skyfire." The leader commands.

"The Autobots are here! They tried to attack me…and my new friends."

The evil being glared at the two humans and gazed back up to the towering robot.

"What? They're here? Blast that Prime…he's discovering it all too quickly." The leader grumbled. "So…it would seem the Constructicons did fail to destroy them after all. We have to get the ship ready as soon as possible. Kill those humans quickly and come with me."

"No…" Skyfire replies. "Megatron, my leader, please…you told me they are under your protection. The Autobots tried to harm them…at least…I think they were. They suddenly stopped as they saw them…curious isn't it? I thought you had told me that…"

"They're were deceiving you, Skyfire." Megatron suddenly interrupts. "Um…yes….we are their protectors. But a vast majority of humans have joined the Autobots in their plans for conquest…the Decepticons tried desperately to stop the spread of their lies to these poor innocent beings…but the damage was too far spread."

"That's a lie!" Spike shouts in anger. "Megatron is tricking you into thinking that way! Don't listen to him!"

"You see?" The leader smirks as he shrugs. "These humans are their spies now. If we let them live…the Autobots will surely come and stop our return home."

Skyfire looks at Spike and Sparkplug with deep concern.

"But what will killing them solve? I do not understand...what harm could fragile beings like this do?"

Megatron holds out his hands and waits for the massive transformer to hand them over to him.

"They've done much damage already. Stolen technology that doesn't belong to them, endangered their own lives by trying to use our weapons they know nothing about, and now they've joined the Autobots in trying to stop our return home. Think about it Skyfire…armed with weapons like ours? We'd not only be fighting against the Autobots…but the entire human race as well! Just give them to me…and I shall be merciful in giving them a quick painless end."

The giant robot gives a look to him and then both of the humans again. His confusion runs deep as his eyes give away his mixed emotions. Slowly, he hands them over to Megatron and both men shout in protest as they soon become tightly gripped in the evil transformer's hands.

"See how they make a fuss…my friend." Megatron says as he holds them up to his face. "This planet has been corrupted by the Autobots totally…now we must do what is right…and destroy them all."

"Wait!" Skyfire suddenly says as he takes hold of Megatron's arm. "I…I have a better idea."

The Decepticon leader looks at the white robot's hand touching him and scowls at him for doing so. Megatron never likes to be touched by anyone, especially not a lower ranking officer that must be decieved to obeying his orders.

"Remove your hand from me at once!" The leader growls.

Skyfire quickly does as he's told and then continues to speak once the silver leader is calm.

"Forgive me. I…I just wanted to say…the humans might be better off alive. Their leader seemed rather concerned for their well being…"

"Indeed." Megatron mused. "Or perhaps he wanted you to believe that inorder to let your guard down."

"Maybe…" The white robot said stroking his chin in thought. "But what if we kept them alive as a form of…of exchange or…or insurance that they would keep back until we made the necessary repairs."

The leader eyed the massive robot with a skeptical view and suddenly smirked as he gazes at both men in his hands.

"Yes, I see what you are trying to say." Megatron snickers. "If they value their lives so much, they would keep a distance. And who better then Optimus Prime would be so blinded by that foolish notion as compassion. Well done Skyfire…you've finally begun to think like a Decepticon."

Skyfire bows to him.

"Thank you, my leader."

"Optimus Prime won't let you get away with this Megatron!" Spike shouts at him.

"He'll find a way to stop you, count on that!" Sparkplug adds.

Megatron lets out a hearty laugh at the two trying to intimidate him.

"Oh foolish humans. You're all the same…hoping against hope. Pathetic. You're just like those miserable Autobots and their ignorant leader."

"I take that as a complement Megatron." Sparkplug says pounding his fist on the leader's massive hand clasping him. "Coming from someone that is only a coward under a useless metallic shell."

The Decepticon's eyes flare with anger as he slowly crushes them both as punishment for that slur. As the two cry out in pain, the leader eases up in his grip and scowls at them.

"Let that be a lesson to you. Be grateful I do not execute you at this very moment. But as our new loyal soldier has pointed out…you're more useful to me as a means to control Prime from stopping us."

Megatron nods to Skyfire to follow him as he flies off the hull and down into an opening in the ship. The massive transformer jumps down to join him and together they walk into the vast corridors of the ressurected vessel.

••••••••••••••••••••••

Starscream enters the damaged bridge of the aged Nemesis, looking around he notices the various Deceptions trying to rebuild and repair the computers about the room. He walks towards Archeville and Chip Chase, who sit on the ground with Ravage keeping a close on them both. Archeville's eyes dot about as he watches the evil robots work, in an almost crazed glare, he sits in total amazement on how fast the metal being work. Chip keeps his head rested on his knees as he has his hands wrapped around them. In his mind, he now wishes he never accepted Archeville's position and helped to resurrect this ship that has fallen back into the hands of the Decepticons.

"Thank you gentlemen for taking good care of our vessel, it seems you have been very busy trying to understand our technology for your own." The jet commander smirks.

"We've only studied a mere tenth of what your technology can do." Archeville smiles. "I would so much like to learn more of the infinite possibilities it all can bring me."

"And what of you human?" Starscream now says to Chip Chase. "Do you share in this flesh creature's curious nature?"

"No." Chip states firmly. "I wish to god I never even cracked your computer's language and helped him to use any of this."

"You cracked our codes?" The Decepticon says with surprise. "Impossible! Those are Decepticon encryption algorithms that no mere being such as yourself could possibly understand!"

"The boy is very gifted Starscream." The doctor giggles as he looks over at Chip. "He managed to unlock your computer faster then anyone I've ever used before."

Chase doesn't look at either of them; instead he just lowers his head into his knees further and hides his emotions from the two of them.

"Then you are a threat to us." Starscream growls as he clenches his fist. "Both of you should be destroyed for even touching property of the Decepticon Empire!"

The commander aims his arm-mounted cannons at the men and squints at them with contempt.

"I will rid of you creatures once and for all!"

"Starscream!" A voice yells out from behind.

The jet commander turns to see Megatron standing in the room with Skyfire looking on. The leader has a furious gaze at him and his hands firmly placed on his sides.

"What do you think you are doing? I gave you no order to kill these humans! Stand aside and get back to work!"

"No Megatron!" He hollers back. "These creatures are a threat to our existence! We should kill them all and be rid of their filth forever!"

As Skyfire stands in shock of hearing his old friend admit it so forcefully, Megatron quickly walks over and gives Starscream a back slap of his hand. The strike sends the jet commander to the ground with his hand holding his cheek in pain.

"Calm yourself Starscream! I will not be tolerant of your defiance!" The leader snarls. "These humans are more worth to us alive then dead. They are to be kept as insurance against the Autobots, who even now are heading our way at this very second."

"The…the Autobots?" The robot suddenly looks up. " But Devastator was suppose to wipe them out! Optimus Prime will kill us all for sure!"

"Then you'd better make sure all is repaired quickly and assemble a group to meet Prime and the others when they arrive."

"Yes…yes immediately Megatron!" The jet commander bows as he stands up.

As Starscream scurries out of the room, Megatron shakes his head in a disappointed fashion and gives a sigh. Still holding on to the two humans, Megatron sets the Witwicky's down with Archeville and Chip. Ravage growls at the two snow suited men as they sit down at the sight of the razor clawed beast. Megatron towers over them all and gives a joyful laugh.

"Isn't this a pretty picture? Four humans cowering before the might of the Decepticons, soon your world will all be at my feet and slaves to my will alone."

"Don't count on it Mega-dolt!" Spike shouts with an angry fist. "Optimus Prime will come to knock that smile of yours right into deep space!"

"Such big talk for such a small being." The leader quips. "I doubt you'll be as bold once I end your lives when you become obsolete to me."

"Megatron! I demand you let us go!" Sparkplug now begins to state to the silver being. "At least let these kids out as a measure of good faith on your part…I will stay as your prisoner…and so will Archeville!"

The doctor quickly turns his head at Sparkplug and scowls at him for making such an offer without his consent. But Megatron just laughs at the middle-aged man's request and folds his arms together.

"Such heroic nonsense." He simply says. "Save your breath human. I will not let one of you go, not while I have the advantage over Optimus Prime. Now be silent all of you, or Ravage here will make a nice snack out of you for his mere pleasure."

The black robotic cat roared at them all as his eyes flashed with power. Sparkplug didn't speak another word and held on to Spike as any fearful father would. The Decepticon leader continued snicker as he left the group huddled together and stepped off the bridge to inspect the rest of the ship. Skyfire remained in the room and watched the humans from a distance with great curiosity. Archeville faced Sparkplug as he turned to talk to him in a quiet voice.

"How dare you use me as part of your foolish attempts to survive! For your information, I have no intent on leaving these marvelous creatures!"

"Then you are truly insane Archeville." Sparkplug glares at him. "These Decepticons aren't interested in what you or any of us have to offer. They only care about themselves and the conquest of two worlds…ours and Cybertron."

"Bah!" The doctor says to him throwing hand up. "You are so narrow minded in your views. This is the perfect time to show these metal beings just what humans can truly do. But what did I expect from such simple minded twits like you."

"Who you calling simple minded you nut job!" Spike growls as he starts to wrestle with the doctor. "Get this in your thick skull…they're going to kill us!"

"Unhand me you…you…Autobot lover!" Archeville shouts.

Ravage quickly steps in and paws them away from each other. Spike is now thrown over to Chip and Archeville over to Sparkplug. The black cat growls at them as if to bring about silence again. Once they settle down, Ravage returns to his previous spot and keeps an eye on the group. Spike mutters about Archeville under his breath as he tries to remain calm, but soon takes note of the young man remaining with his face buried in his knees.

"Hey…are…are you Chip Chase?" Spike inquires.

"He died." The man answers back. "There's nobody by that name anymore."

"Look, I know its you." Spike continues to speak. "My friend and I found all your documents about this secret on the internet. We even saw your picture…"

The young man looks up at Spike and adjusts his glasses.

"Oh man it is you!" Spike smiles. "They said you vanished…but I never believed you'd be part of all this?"

"Look…I don't want to talk about it. Just leave me alone. I fill crappy enough as it is."

"What happened to you Chase? What happened to the guy that wouldn't be part of some conspiracy or faction of government that kept secrets?" Spike says to him with disgust. "All your deep discussions, all those moral lectures on the forums, the one man who couldn't be bought, silenced or told what to do?"

Chip just holds his head back and tries not to cry.

"I told you I was dead. My life ended a long time ago. That Chip Chase no longer exists…so…just back off."

Spike just shakes his head and stares at him.

"They bought you out didn't they? They came to you with the one thing you know you just couldn't refuse. Alien technology…to be the first to crack a non-terrestrial language…to be the biggest, baddest, most sought after hacker in the world."

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Chase starts to scream at him.

"That's it isn't it?" Spike continues to say to him. "It's all about being number one."

Chip begins to sob away in his hands as he nods.

"Yes…damn you yes. It was the chance of a lifetime! My dream…do you understand? My dream!"

Chip takes off his glasses and wipes his tears as he continues to weep.

"I needed to be the best, I wanted to be the best…."

"Pathetic." Spike scoffs. "Look where it's got you. This is it Chip…how does it feel to be the best? To be the one that will go down in human history…the greatest traitor Earth has ever known. All because you wanted to be crowned the 'hacker of the world'. Bravo…you've succeeded."

Chip gave another quiet sob in his hands as he soon rubbed his head in anguish.

"Forgive me….forgive me. Oh god! Forgive me!"

Spike watched the boy collapse into another spell of tears, rather then continue to belittle the boy, he inched over and began to comfort him. He could see his words were striking a deep emotional cord within Chip, perhaps he was very sorry for his actions, but what was done was done. Now in their darkest hour, Spike decided to give the broken man one moment of human compassion, perhaps the very thing that separated them from the monstrosities around them.


	20. To The Rescue

Chapter 20 – To The Rescue

The sun continues to glare on the icy snow covered surface of the polar north. The cold, barren, wintry wasteland remains still as the wind howls about and brushes over it without being able to stir any of the snow up from the ground. The faint sound of vehicles gear shifting and crushing the surface with their tires now becomes louder as we soon see Optimus Prime and the other Autobots driving through the valley. The convoy of car transformers lined up in single file behind each other as they make a steady roadway for all to follow. Suddenly, Optimus Prime comes to a halt and quickly transforms as he notices the horizon ahead. The other Autobots soon stop as they all transform back into robot mode and look upon the leader with a curious gaze.

"What is it Optimus?" Brawn asks.

"Hey ya man!" Jazz says as he walks up. "Why are we stoppin'?"

"My sensors are picking up a massive object dead ahead." The leader replies as he squints. "And believe me…you don't need them to spot that over there.'

The leader points to the crest of the horizon and shows them the faint tower of the ship's bridge sticking up like a building in the distance.

"Is…is that what I think it is?" Prowl gasps.

"The Decepticons ship…" Wheeljack nods. "The Nemesis. I'd recognize that hull configuration anywhere. This is bad."

The purple-hued metal was faded and looking rather run down, but Prime could make out the features with little effort. It suddenly dawned on him of the meaning of Archeville's secret plan, it was so blatantly obvious, he could have struck himself in the head for not thinking of is sooner.

"Project N…" Prime scowls. "N for Nemesis. What a fool I've been, if humans were able to discover our ship…then obviously they would have discovered theirs as well."

Bumblebee runs up ahead to have a look and turns back to Optimus as he looks at him with sympathy.

"I'll admit this is kinda bad on our part…but don't blame yourself Optimus. You or any of us couldn't have known the humans would find this thing so easy."

"But they did Bumblebee…they did." Prime sighs. "And now Megatron has the means of getting home."

"But it's not too late to stop him Prime." Ironhide says clutching his fist. "The ship is bound to be in need of major repairs…just like ours was when we were discovered."

"He's got a point there Optimus." Ratchet shrugs as he looks at the distant ship. "Our systems needed maintenance just to get the computers working to spec. I doubt theirs is in any better condition."

"What are we waiting for?" Cliffjumper shouts as he takes out his hand weapon. "I say we go in there and take them all out! We've got to catch them while they don't have it up and running Optimus!"

Prime paces back and forth as he rubs the back of his head.

"True. But I don't want to dash in there at full throttle without knowing what he has got operating. Besides, we've got friends trapped in there…and I know Megatron, he'll use them as leverage. Just like he did during the skirmish in the city of Vectron Major. We lost a lot of good friends because of that massacre…"

Cliffjumper lowers his head in remembrance.

"I'll say. That was just before the mission to take out Megatron's Energon depot on the second moon. Grimlock was just itchin' for some payback after what he done to our guys in Vectron Major. Grimy…my buddy…that was one tough son of a transformer I'll never forget. That's two counts I owe Megatron for killin' my friends."

Prime walks over and places his hand on the small red Autobot's shoulder.

"Don't blind yourself to the anger of what he did Cliffjumper. I too grieve for our fallen soldiers, but to rush in without knowing what waits for us is how mistakes are made. A lesson we've learned in the past and best not repeat again."

"Yeah…I…I guess your right Prime." The little red robot nods as he looks up at he leader. "But we can't just sit here while they get that ship ready."

Optimus Prime steps away from the group and folds his arms as he thinks.

"Indeed. We need to figure out a way to get inside, rescue Spike and Sparkplug and then blow that oversized wreck to pieces. But I can't think of a way of getting past them without being detected. I'm open for suggestions."

The group of Autobots all begin to think hard as they mutter to one another about what to do.

"What about this..." Smokescreen suggests. "Prowl, Sliverstreak and I create a diversion and then you guys drive right into the side of that ship and blast your way through each level?"

"Man that's the worst idea I've ever heard." Blaster moans. "Where you just here now when Optimus said no going in guns blazing?"

Windcharger snaps his fingers in realization and smiles.

"I got it! So we can't rush over there to get them? But who says we can't go under to get them?"

Huffer starts to share in the idea and laughs.

"That's a great idea! We can dig under the ice and make a tunnel all the way over to the ship's hull at the base."

"But we'd have to tunnel a fair ways down and there's not telling how thick that ice is below us." Wheeljack states. "Don't forget this is just a frozen ocean right? There's bound to be areas where the ice is weak and we'd all fall into the depths."

"I say just let us smaller bots go in then." Windcharger observes. "That way the tunnel won't be as big and we can move about without being detected by the Decepticons."

Optimus Prime taps his fingers as he rests his arms together. Taking a look back at the distant ship and then at Windcharger again, the leader nods reluctantly.

"Alright…we'll give this plan a shot. But the minute it becomes too dangerous or the ice gives way…head back immediately. I don't want you all to become frozen residence of this place."

Windcharger smiles and then takes his pick of those going with him.

"Bumblebee, Brawn, Huffer…you're with me guys."

"Wait!" Cliffjumper interrupts. "I want to go too."

Windcharger looks up at the leader and shrugs.

"How bout it Optimus? We could use him."

Prime walks over to the small red transformer and places his hands on side in a relaxed manner.

"Oh…very well. I hear by return you to active duty again Cliffjumper. But remember to keep that trigger finger in check…we don't want mistakes to be made."

"Don't worry Optimus." The small robot smiles back at him. "I won't let my ego get in the way of the mission."

Brawn transforms into his Land Rover Range Rover mode and converts his front headlights into two spinning drills.

"Ok enough of the talk. Let's get this show on the road!"

Brawn positions himself to the ground and drills through the ice and snow. Bumblebee, Windcharger, Huffer and Cliffjumper all transform. The group of small cars follows the green-yellow Land Rover down into the hole he's creating at a rapid pace. As they disappear from sight, Optimus Prime turns to the others standing around and gives them assignments.

"Prowl, Smokescreen, Sliverstreak…you three will be diversion once Windcharger and the others have Spike and his dad. Bluestreak, Jazz, Hound, Sunstreaker you'll cover the left side as we go in. Sideswipe, Ratchet, Ironhide…you're with me on the right. Red Alert, Inferno, Blaster…you take the middle and find a spot to keep a look out for us. The minute they radio in…give us a signal to begin our attack."

"Rodger that Prime!" Blaster salutes.

"Let's move on out Autobots." The leader commands. "Transform and roll out!"

The entire group converts simultaneously and proceeds to drive towards the ship in single file again.

••••••••••••••••••••••

Deep below the surface ice, Brawn continues to tunnel through, as Windcharger keeps close behind him. Huffer, Cliffjumper and Bumblebee keep a good space between as they maintain a good slow speed behind the others.

"Am I heading the right way ol' buddy or am I off course?" Brawn asks.

"My scope says you're on the money Brawn." Windcharger answers back. "Just keep level and don't move too quick."

"Hey Huffer?" Bumblebee shouts from the back of the line. "I was just thinkin'…"

"That's dangerous for a young upstart like you." The orange flat-nosed rig chuckles.

"Yeah, yeah…" The yellow Volkswagen beetle sighs. "What do you think Wheeljack's interest in dinosaurs is? I mean, he's always talking about them non-stop."

"Who cares!" Huffer shouts back. "He's got Dinos on the brain…what can I say? Never could figure out that guy…it's like he's always thinking constantly. But never on the task at hand."

"Yeah. I guess so."

"Which is what you should be doing right now." Huffer says to him again.

Brawn continues to drill at a steady pace and shivers abit as he works.

"Man, I never thought my chassis would be this cold…I hope I never see ice like this ever again."

"We could be on this planet for some time." Windcharger points out to him. "Never say never…it's bad luck."

"Bad luck." Brawn moans. "I tell ya…if we accidentally run into those Decepti-creeps I'll show them what bad luck is all about."

"Less yappin' guys…more drillin'!" Cliffjumper shouts.

Brawn snickers at his comment.

"Well, well…look who's trying to be mister professional all of a sudden? Guess being stripped of rank smacked some common sense into that crazy wired brain of yours."

"Cool it guys! We've got to focus." Windcharger commands.

"You had to say cool didn't ya?" Bumblebee giggles.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Inside the massive Decepticons ship, Archeville, Chip Chase, Spike and Sparkplug continue to sit and watch Ravage keep pace around them. The cold red energized eyes staring right through them as it growls constantly.

"Hey Chip." Spike whispers to the young man sitting opposite to him. "Look, I'm sorry I chewed you out earlier."

"It's ok Spike." Chase says closing his eyes. "I probably deserved it. You were right anyway…it was all about being the world's greatest hacker. Guess this is my punishment for being so arrogant in the first place."

Spike inches closer to him and keeps an eye on the black robotic panther moving about.

"So tell me, you've been working on these computers of theirs all this time right?"

"Yeah?" Chip nods. "Why?"

"So you know pretty much the codes and the command functions of this thing right?"

"Where is this going Spike?" The young man asks him.

"Maybe you can send a message to the Autobots without them knowing about it."

Chip looks over at Ravage and at Skyfire standing near the entry doors as he keeps his eye fixed on them as well.

"And how do you propose we go about doing this? We've got the killer kitty and the jolly white giant eyeing us all the time."

"Well, maybe if we create a distraction…"

"Don't you even try it boy!" Archeville sudden speaks as he overhears their conversation. "I'll alert them to whatever you're planning. So forget it."

"You would." Chip snarls at him. "All this time I thought you were just trying to keep the technology from falling into the wrong hands…now I can see your as insane as these killing machines."

"They're not insane Chip. And neither am I…I see everything so clearly…just as they do."

Sparkplug snickers at him.

"Give me a break Doc. That glass you're looking through is just as clouded as their judgment is."

Ravage growls loudly at them again as he notices them getting overly chatty, the group quickly grows silent once more as they continue to sit. Skyfire had heard their conversation as well, even at such a distance from them; he could still make out their entire chat. His mind was racing on what was true and what was not. Being in that ice for all this time might have fried some of his circuitry, but he was beginning to doubt the Decepticons we not as they appeared to be. He tapped his upper lip in thought and soon left the room to search out Starscream to help him in this difficult time. They had been friends for many years in the past, always relying on each other for wisdom and guidance. As he walked down the ruined corridor, he stepped over the many shattered bodies of the Decepticon soldiers that had been deactivated all this time. Gazing upon their lifeless faces, he wondered if he had done the right thing about leaving Cybertron in a time of great crisis.


	21. The Heart of Cybertron

Chapter 21 – The Heart of Cybertron

Down in the depths of the massive Decepticon spaceship, Megatron enters into the large engine room where Soundwave and Rumble are hard at work trying to repair the damaged star drive. As the leader steps in, both Decepticons salute him as he comes to inspect their progress.

"Well Soundwave? How long will it take to regain power?"

"Engines are not too badly damaged. Estimated time of completion...one solar day."

"We may not have that kind of time. Speed up the progress…the Autobots are on their way."

"The Autobots? They'll frag us for sure." Rumble gulps.

"Not if you get these engines up and running before they get here!" Megatron barks down at him. "So get to work! NOW!"

Rumble and Soundwave salute their leader nervously, with almost synchronized timing, the duo speed up their repairs diligently. Megatron continues down the room and comes to a massive shielded door way. The metal is thicker then anything else on the vessel, even the hull plating isn't as fully forged as this. The Decepticon leader stokes the seamless door that's flush with the rest of the vault like structure and gives a smirk that only a twisted mind like his could give. With a forced thrust of both hands, the silver polished transformer grunts loudly as he uses all of his strength to force the doors wide open. As Thundercracker enters the room, he witnesses the evil leader prying the ten-inch thick doors open and noticing a brilliant green light shining from inside of the vault.

The glare causes the lightly colored blue Jet robot to cover his eyes; he could hear something pulsating with power as the silence was broken in the entire room. Megatron stepped inside of the overly shielded vault and clasps his hands around the point of light gleaming the green hue of power. As his fist covers the entire thing, the light dims down and Thundercracker lowers his hand from his face to see Megatron step out with a confidant stare.

"What…what the heck was that?" He inquires to the leader.

"A little something I brought along for insurance purposes." Megatron smiles. "Our means of rebuilding our world once the Autobots have been vanquished."

"You…you don't mean…"

"Yes." The leader nods. "The Heart of Cybertron. The last piece of pure energon crystal ever removed from the core of our planet."

"Incredible!" The Decepticon jet uttered. "I thought we tapped them all out long ago."

"All but this Thundercracker."

Megatron holds it open again to show the light beaming out of the crystalline structure. The pulsations of the energy shine in Megatron's red glowing eyes like a ballet of light.

"I saved this last piece of the original core to fuel our Empire once the war was over. It was going to be our chance to power the planet once more to full glory and lead us to total victory in the conquest of the universe."

"So why don't we use it to power the ship?" Thundercracker says averting his eyes again. "It would be enough to blast this planet to bits and the Autobots with it."

"Fool!" Megatron shouts as he closes his hand again. "I will not waste this last crystal against only the Autobots. I have other plans for this…plans that will bring us total victory once and for all."

"Why not place it inside yourself and become all powerful!" Rumble says as he enters the conversation. "Think about it Megatron! You could be unstoppable!"

The leader scowls with anger and turns directly at the small robot face to face.

"GET BACK TO WORK!"

"But…but…I only meant to say…that is…" The small robot stutters.

Megatron leads in closer to him as his eyes flare a beaming red.

"Do you realize how much power is in this small amount? It would overload my circuits totally and fuse my body into a mass of molten metal! So before you make any more stupid suggestions Rumble…make sure you wish to live before asking them again!"

"Yes Megatron!" The mini-Decepticon salutes.

He quickly rushes back over to the engines and continues to repair them with Soundwave, who also had paused to see the crystal Megatron possessed. Soundwave remembered during the war of their mining of the core of Cybertron. A last ditch effort to power their armies and deny the Autobots any chance at re-energizing themselves. It was a long battle in the bowels of the planet, each side taking more and more for themselves until there was nothing left. Nothing until Megatron showed this remaining piece of hope…the last purified energon crystal known to exist from their world.

"So what are you going to do with it then Megatron?" Thundercracker grumbles as he watches the leader place it in a small heavy metal box. "What's the point of keeping that to yourself if we've got a ship to power up? We could use it to get off this rock and head home right now!"

"My business with this is my own Thundercracker." The leader growls at him. "That should be reason enough for the likes of you. We'll use the energy the humans have been feeding into computers to bring our defenses online. Crude generators to be sure…but they've got enough to suit our purpose."

"Oh great. That will be enough to hold off the Autobots for a bit, but how are we gonna get this hunk of junk off the ground with hardly any juice in it…mighty leader?" The light blue Decepticon jet questions as he folds his arms.

"By using Archeville's submarines we ripped apart." Megatron scowls at him. "I instructed Devastator to rip out the nuclear power cells and drain them of energy. It was enough to give us a supply to power this ship…enough to conquer this world and take the resources we need back to Cybertron."

"You mean you knew this ship was here?"

"I knew enough that the humans had found something of it. It wasn't until Archeville led us to this site that the entire vessel was still intact."

Megatron pushes Thundercracker aside forcibly and heads out the door.

"Make yourself useful and help Starscream before Optimus and the others get here." The leader grumbles.

Thundercracker squints in thought as Megatron leaves and looks over at Soundwave finishing up his repairs on the engine.

"We've got to be out of our minds following him, Soundwave."

The cycloptic yellow-eyed transformer nodded in agreement as Thundercracker left the room while finishing his thought.

"He's going to kill us all in the end."

•••••••••••••••••••••

"Well we're here…now what?"

Huffer transforms with the others as he taps lightly on the metal hull that Brawn managed to expose in his drilling. The others soon transform with him and inspect the wall before them as well.

"Careful Huffer!" Bumblebee says holding his hand out with caution. "The plating might have sensors to detect us!"

"No way lil' buddy." Brawn snickers. "This ship is dead. I'm not getting a power level from any of this metal."

"Hmmm." Huffer says as he continues to feel the rusting aged metal. "It pretty well preserved for being buried. Kinda like our ship only it's not as weakened structurally."

"Strange isn't it?" Windcharger questions as he folds his arms with a look of concern. "You'd think it would have been deeper in the surface then it really is. Judging from the layers of ice I'd say it's only been sitting here for a hundred years…or less."

"Not possible Windcharger…" The orange-robot scoffs at him. "The forces of this planet must have shifted it up out of the bottom as the ice formed. There's some stress here that says it's been pulled upward from all the pressure over the centuries."

Bumblebee gives a bored expression and sighs.

"Uh huh…this is all fascinating guys, but do you mind if we can the theories and get inside to help Spike and his dad?"

"He's right." Brawn states as he retracts his hand into his arm and converts it into a laser cutter. "Enough of the yappin and time to get crackin'!"

The bright plasma ignites as he activates it; the orange red beam soon hits the surface of the ship in a dazzling array of sparks. The extreme heat melts the purple tinted metal and begins to slice through the ultra thickness of the hull. Brawn slowly guides his cutter as he makes circular shape and repeats the process four times until the red-hot section falls off and drops onto the ground before them. The heat causes the snow to melt and send the hot metal chunk to melt downwards. As Brawn returns his hand to normal, the group leaps over the forming ice hole and jump into the ship's opening. Bumblebee rises up from his crouched position and beams his eyes into the darkness. Like high beams on their car modes, their eyes all glare into the dark to see where they are.

"Looks like we've made it into the lower levels." The yellow robot whispers.

"Oh you think?" Brawn laughs. "What was your first clue?"

"We've got to locate where Spike and Sparkplug are being kept." Windcharger whispers to them all as he walks forward. "Set your scanners for bio-readings. It won't be hard to spot them on a ship like this…"

"Yeah." Bumblebee agrees as he follows the others walking inward. "They're the only ones that aren't made of metal."

The group walks through the room in a single file and take out their weapons from their unfolding leg panels. Each of them look ready for any sudden surprises as they keep their weapons poised and ready for action.

"I think I found the door." Windcharger whispers back to them.

He grabs the lever he can see with his eye-lights and reaches to grab it. Suddenly voices are heard coming from the other side and he quickly retracts his hand.

"Shhh!" He instructs the others. "Someone's coming!"

Bumblebee, Brawn and Huffer lean up against the wall near the door, while Windcharger takes the opposite side and gets his gun ready. He brings his head up to the dark metal wall and listens.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Walking through the bowels of the ship, Starscream meets up with Megatron heading back up to the command deck.

"Have those fools got the engine online yet?" The jet commander questions.

"Almost. What of the rest of the ship?" The leader inquires back.

"Most of the breaches have been sealed. But without the main computers fully functional I can't tell if there are any other damaged areas."

"Never mind that now." Megatron stops in the corridor as he places the small box containing the Heart of Cybertron into a compartment inside his thigh. "What of the cannons and our defense grids?"

"A few cannons are operational, the grid is another matter." Starscream states as he keeps an eye on the box being tucked away by the leader. "That could take longer."

Megatron rub his chin in thought and taps his finger.

"We won't have time to make all the necessary repairs. Optimus Prime could be here at any given moment. Thundercracker will be along shortly to give you a hand, see to it those cannons are working…operate them manually if you have too. I don't want any Autobot to get close to our vessel!"

"Aye, aye…Megtron." Starscream salutes sarcastically to him.

The silver polished Decepticon walks around the jet commander and returns to head up to the bridge. Starscream keeps an eye on the spot Megatron placed the box inside of him and squints with curiosity. Thundercracker finally makes it up the corridor and greets the commander.

"Well, I hear you need some help Starscream. Guess it wouldn't be the first time, eh?"

As he snickers at his own comment, Starscream bops him on the head and grabs hold of this throat tightly.

"Don't dare to insult me ever again! I am your superior! I am in charge of you and Skywarp…so don't even think of being witty with the likes of me!"

"I…I…didn't mean it…" Thundercracker gasps as he feels Starscreams grip tightening. "What is your…command…sir!"

Giving a pleased smile and releasing his grip on him. Starscream pats him on face and changes his tone.

"Why we're going to make sure our weapons are fully ready to welcome the Autobots…and blast this planet to bits! Baa-hahahahaha!"

The two walk down the end of the corridor as Starscream's laugh echoes through the entire level.

••••••••••••••••••••

Windcharger lets out a gasp of relief as the Decepticon's voices vanish. He lowers his weapon and slowly opens the door to take a peek.

"Well?" Huffer whispers to him.

"Ok, the coast is clear." Windcharger nods.

He opens the door wide and steps out cautiously as the other soon follow behind.

"Sneakin' around a Decepticon ship." Brawn grumbles. "We should be wastin' the suckers while were inside!"

"No!" Bumblebee raises his voice. "Spike and Sparkplug's safety comes first!"

"Shhh..shut up!" Huffer glares at them both. "If you two keep being loud as that we'll all be scrapped."

Windcharger flips open panel on his arm and watches a small viewer raise up to make it flush with the top of his arm. A sonar type screen scrolls away with a green light and shows human life signs represented by flashing blue icons.

"They're on the bridge. And they're not alone…"

"More?" Brawn inquires.

"By the looks of it…four humans in total."

"Great." Bumblebee groans. "With Decepticons watching no doubt."

"This way guys…come on!" The red-grey Autobot motions as he keeps an eye on his sonar tracker.

The small group rush as quickly and quietly as they can down the corridor and keep turning around to make sure their not being followed.


	22. Awaken The Nemesis

Chapter 22 – Awaken The Nemesis

"Megatron!" Skyfire shouts as he spots the leader walking by. "Where is Starscream? I must talk to him."

The leader gives a sigh of annoyance and pushes him out of the way.

"With Thundercracker on the next level. Why don't you make yourself useful and help him then?"

"I shall, there is much I need to discuss with him. Thank you my fellow Decepticon." The massive robot smiles.

Megatron puts his hand on the giant's chest as he begins to head off. Giving him a disapproving glare, the Decepticon leader scowls at him.

"I grow tired of your lack of respect for the chain of command, Skyfire. I am Megatron your leader…you will address me with greater respect then what you've just shown. Not like some common oaf that is lower in rank! If you ever talk to me like that again…I will make an example of you in front of all the others! Is that understood?"

Skyfire pauses as he notices the dead seriousness within the robot's eyes. He gives a respectful nod and quivers in his answer back to him.

"Forgive me, Sir. I meant no disrespect at all. I shall make a note of it from this moment on."

Tapping on Skyfire's Decepticon emblem that sits clearly on his chest, Megatron continues to glare at him with anger.

"See that you do. Now stop loitering around the ship and go help set up the forward cannons…GO!"

The giant robot bows to him and scurries quickly to his post, Megatron shakes his head and returns to proceed down the corridor.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

Outside of the ship, down at the base of the hull sticking out of the snow and ice of the frozen tundra, a pair of black robotic hands digs out of the cold surface. As they retreat back down into the hole, a red and silver head comes popping out gazing at the massive ship in front.

"Some plan this is." Cliffjumper scoffs. "They attack from inside and I've got to scale the hull in plain view. Why do I always have to be the distraction?"

The red robot pulls himself out of ice and rubs his hands as if he can feel the frost-filled air nipping at them. He soon retracts them inside his arms and a pair of multi-jointed suction cups slide out. Placing them carefully on the side of the aged armor plating, Cliffjumper begins to use them as he climbs up the ship in a progressive slow manner. The weakened metal creaks as he scales upward, the weight of his body and warmth of his suction devices makes the hull skin to shake with each touch. Cliffjumper himself seems to notice this and gives a worried look as he dims his eyes.

"Easy Cliffjumper ol' pal…" He says to himself. "It's one small climb for Autobots….one massive fall to the ground if I screw up."

The little robot continues to climb up the side of the Nemesis as the wind howls away with the crisp cool air.

••••••••••••••••••••••

Optimus Prime notices Cliffjumper as he zooms in with his blue eyes. Inside his vision, the light blue visual shows calculations of Cliffjumper's rate of ascension, the heat of his body and the projected stats of his possibility of reaching the top undetected. The numbers are varied and displayed in the Cybertronian text. Alien language that any human might not understand, but to the Transformers, the numbers and symbols are prediction un-favorable results.

"What's that fool doing Optimus?" Ironhide grumbles near the leader. "He'll be spotted for sure going up like that."

"I think that's the idea Ironhide." The Autobot leader says as he turns off his eye displays. "They're using him as a means of bait. Probably so they can get through the ship undetected."

"It's a crazy trick Prime. The Decepticons won't fall for it."

"Don't be so sure. They probably know we're here already and just waiting for us to make a move."

As the three lay down behind a snowdrift close to the vessel, a roaring sound of engines echoes in the distance.

"Uh oh." Sideswipe says as he directs his eyes to the noise. "Looks like re-enforcements are coming."

Prime and Ironhide turn to look up and see Skywarp returning quickly with some Constructicons flying beside him in robot mode. The Autobot leader notices that it's not the entire group of the green menaces. And peers his eyes in thought as he watches them approach the Nemesis.

"Dang." Ironhide slams his fist. "I thought we took out those son's 'o bitches for good."

"I guess not Ironhide." Prime admits. "But we may have crippled their means of forming Devastator. Not all of them are present. We should be grateful for that at least."

The Decepticons fly past overhead as the Autobots all keep low and try to remain out of sight from the group flying in. Prime lifts his head up to make sure all of the others are out of line of sight, and then watches Cliffjumper keeping still as he too sees them coming closer. Optimus noticed that the little robot's body still had some snow covered on his back, the frost wind had also coated his metal to a dull look; it might be enough to fool the Decepticons from spotting him on the side of the ship.

"Don't move Cliffjumper." Prime whispers to himself. "Don't move…keep absolutely still."

The Deceptions were in too much of a rush to notice the small snow covered robot, even as they passed he looked blended into the ship's frost covered hull. Skywarp and the others didn't know the Autobots were around, nor that there'd be one climbing up the side of the massive ship. Cliffjumper was a mere speck on the grand vessel. Skywarp transformed into his robot mode and the rest followed him in to the torn out hole on the side. The little red Autobot let out a sigh of relief, as too did Optimus Prime and the others watching in horror.

"That is one lucky little Mo'Fo." Blaster smirks to Inferno and Red Alert, as they keep low with snow cover over top of them.

"Mo'Fo? Is that another one of those crazy human expressions? What does it mean Blaster?" Red Alert nervously asks.

Inferno just chuckles and playfully throws more snow on top of Red Alert.

"Just means he's ok. Now keep down and get ready for Prime's signal."

The three stop talking as they keep their eyes focused on the ship. Cliffjumper had continued to climb as the threat of being discovered passed.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

"Megatron!" Skywarp shouts as he and the Constructicons near the bridge.

The leader was facing their way as he walked up to the doors in the corridor.

"I've brought them as you instructed. But…"

"But what?" The leader grimaces.

As he looked past the black and purple colored Decepticon, he could only see Four out of the six standing there.

"I said bring all the Constructions! Does this look like all of them to you!"

"We're what we can spare, Megatron." Hook announces.

Bonecrusher, Scavenger and Scrapper stood beside Hook with their arms folded and nodded in agreement.

"Mixmaster and Long Haul are still trying to repair many of our components to form Devastator."

The angry leader rushed up to the defiant green Construction and began to strangle him with his right hand.

"You mean to tell me that Devastator is not operational! I thought you six were incapable of being destroyed by mere group of Autobots!"

As Hook gasps under the pressure of the leader's hand, Scrapper tries to pull him off and explains further.

"Optimus Prime pushed Devastator on top of the cannon the humans were deploying...it over loaded and caused a chain wide reaction! Please Megatron…at least we took care of the weapon for you!"

The angered silver leader picks up Hook off the ground and throws him against the others.

"FOOLS!" Megatron howls in outrage. "I told you to NOT to destroy that weapon! It was the forward main plasma cannon of this ship! All you had to do was to rip it out of there and THEN deal with the Autobots!"

"But…but…Megatron…" Scrapper continues to stutter as he and the others struggle to stand up again.

"It is disgusting that mere humans were able to defeat you with the help of the Autobots. You…the once unstoppable juggernaut of my Decepticon army. The victors of the Icon city siege, the all mighty Constructicons that turned the tide of our war as they brought Devastator to life!"

Skywarp shakes his head and smirks at them.

"And all it took…was a few humans and some stupid Auto geeks. My how the mighty have fallen huh Megatron?"

Scrapper points at Skywarp and growls.

"We still have the might to kick your hide across this planet and back!"

"We were caught off guard…Megatron…" Hook says as he gets his voice back. "It will not happen again. We promise you."

As the leader continues to glare his red vibrant eyes at them, he changes his posture into a less aggravated stance.

"It best not Hook. For your sakes…it better never happen again at all."

Megatron turns his head to Skywarp with anger still in his eyes. That makes the black jet seeker quickly loose his smirk and stand at attention before him.

"Tell me you at least brought back the Nuclear power cells from those destroyed underwater vessels of Archeville's?"

"Got them right here in my storage compartment Megatron, sir!" Skywarp salutes and points to his back.

"Finally…a soldier that knows his place." The leader grumbles. "Get those down to the engine room and get us back up to full power with them. Take this disgraced lot with you and get it installed…NOW!"

Skywarp nods in compliance and scurries the others to follow him. Hook rubs his throat in pain as he gives one last look to the scowling leader watching them as they leave. Once they were out of sight, Megatron returned to the bridge and walked into the room giving a long sigh. Once the doors close behind him, he activates his arm communicator.

"Soundwave! Tell me we've got something…anything…to get this ship going while the other bring the power cells down there!"

"Affirmative Megatron." The monotone harmonized voice of the Decepticon answers. "Temporary power…Online!"

As soon as he said that, the entire ship begins to rumble with power returning to the ancient circuits. Lights begin to flicker, some computer panels in the room snap to life and a few spark from the surge of energy. Sitting in the middle of the same room, Spike, Sparkplug, Archeville and Chip all look around in amazement as the Nemesis comes back online. Ravage also quickly turns his head to see the instruments flash on and off, the video screens all showing the Decepticon symbol appearing and giving a status of its reboot.

"Oh god." Spike utters under his breath. "This…is bad."

"Magnificent." Archeville smirks. "The greatest weapon ever to come to Earth…is alive once more."

Chip just looks over at where their computers had all been hooked in and keeps an eye on it carefully. He notices that it has flickered and begins to download information instantly. Looking back over at Archeville, he could see why the old man was smiling. This is what he had been longing to happen and thanks to Megatron…it was.

•••••••••••••••••••

Outside the bridge of the Nemesis, peeking around the end corridor adjacent to it, Bumblebee glances quickly around and snaps his head back out of sight.

"The coast is clear."

Leaning up against the wall, all four Autobots give a sigh of relief and huddle together as if they were in a football match.

"Ok everybody." Brawn announces. "This is the scoop. The Decepticons are powering up the ship, we're close to Spike and the others…now is the time to strike!"

"Wait a minute…" Windcharger says harshly at him. "Who elected you leader of this mission? I'm the one that's giving the orders here."

Huffer chuckles at him and points.

"See…not so easy to take charge of someone like this is it? Why don't we just follow my plan instead?"

"Because you ding-a-ling! I'm the one that says what we do!" Windcharger says back in a low gruff voice.

"Your plan got canceled the minute they powered up the ship." Brawn answers back before Huffer says a word. "I say we go with my plan, we just shoot the place up and take on Megs by ourselves."

"No!" Windcharger growls. "We need to signal Prime! To give us cover…"

"Aw, titanium screws to that Windcharger!" Huffer now adds. "We need Cliffjumper to start attacking from his position!"

The three stare each other down.

"Get Megs!" Brawn says.

"Signal Prime!" Windcharger barks back.

"Cliffjumper needs to attack!" Huffer shouts.

Bumblebee had remained calm while they had been bickering, but this was the boiling point moment for him and spoke out.

"ALRIGHT! Here's what we're gonna do! Windcharger signal Optimus Prime to start the diversion, Huffer tell Cliffjumper to begin his attack run on top of the ship and Brawn…once they get those diversions going, we're going in with guns blazing to get Spike and the others out of there!"

All three of them just gawked at the angry yellow Autobot and then looked at each other for a second.

"Now lets get it together Autobots!"

Brawn just smirks and activates his hand weapon. Windcharger and Huffer flip open their arm panels and start to signal the others.

"No need to shout kid…that was the plan all along." Brawn snorts.

"What?" The yellow bot curiously asks.

"Yeah." Huffer says shaking his head. "Keep your voice down...we know what we're doing."

"Sheesh. You young bots really don't know how to keep a low profile." Windcharger sighs.

"But…but…" Bumblebee stutters in confusion.

"Save it kid." Brawn pats his shoulder. "It's time for us to go into action."

Bumblebee continues to be baffled by their words and looks at his weapon. Give a slight shrug and switching on his gun, the little yellow robot gives a sigh.

"I hope I don't go that senile when I'm their age."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Cliffjumper finally reaches the top of the ship and sprawls out onto the hull out of breath. As he lays there on the snow covered metal and listens to the wind howl past him, Huffer's voice now pops into his head.

"Team one to lone gun….team one to lone gun…are ya there Cliffy?"

Cliffjumper flips his arm panel open and pushes a button to talk back.

"I told you not to call me that."

"What? Lone gun?" Huffer asks.

"No, Cliffy! Ya rotten son of a…"

"Whatever, whatever!" Huffer interrupts. "Begin you attack on the top…you know what to do."

"Yeah, yeah…" The red Autobot acknowledges as he rises up to his feet. "Take out the cannons…I know."

"Good luck…Cliffy."

The signal snaps off and Cliffjumper balls his fist at his arm communicator.

"I'll Cliffy you…stupid no good…."

The Autobot quickly transforms, his tires convert into a spiked-magnetic hybrid and drives along the long ship as he head for his target.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Team one to Optimus Prime! Team one to Optimus Prime! Begin your diversion…now!"

The Autobot leader nods as he hears Windchargers one-way signal to him and looks at the others lying beside him. With a simple hand gesture, he tells both Ironhide and Sideswipe to crawl out and around their hiding place. As he raises his head up, he scouts the location of where the other Autobots are and brightly flashes his eyes on and off to signal to them as well. Blaster notices his coded flashes and signals back the same way. As too does Prowl as he also answers back only in bright blinking eye patterns.

Prime lowers himself back down and taps his weapon gently.

"For all our sakes…I hope that ship isn't at full power just yet."

As he looks back up, Prowl, Smokescreen and Silverstreak being to leap out of their dug out snow spots and fire upon the ship. Their blasts impact with minimal results; even after all this time, the Nemesis hull is well built, the strikes merely shear off the rusted skin and expose the rest of the thick metal that remains intact. As the three continue to attack it, Optimus Prime watches he notices the other group popping up to aid in the diversion tactic. Bluestreak, Jazz, Hound and Sunstreaker transform and reach the gaping hole on the side of the ship. They quickly revert back into robot mode and shoot inside the exposed vessel.

Ratchet stays close the Autobot leader and points to Cliffjumper high above as he zips along the top to reach the cannons being turned at the others.

"He's not going to reach them in time!" The medical Autobot worries.

"Then we'll just have to be on our feet about it!" The leader shouts over the weapons fire. "Like it or not…we've got to keep them busy while the others rescue Spike and his dad!"

••••••••••••••••••••••

The inside of the Nemesis quakes from each explosive impact from the combined attack from the Autobots. Megatron runs over to the main view screen and activates it to get a fix on their location. The image flutters and flickers at first, not being turned on for nearly over hundred million years, the outer sensors show their age as they struggle to snap back on. Megatron can see them as the ship's monitor flickers endlessly. His enraged scowl shows his dissatisfaction with his troops lack of readiness and punches down on the main intercom button.

"Return fire you mindless dolts! Kill those Autobots!"

"Scanners can't give a pin-point accuracy…we don't have a clear shot!" Rumble answers back over the aged, crackling intercom.

"Just shoot! Shoot! SHOOOOT!" Megatron screams again.

•••••••••••••••

The outer cannons begin to move, only four of the eight dotted along the edge of the ship position themselves and begin to build up power. The ends of the barrels start to glow a bright green hue as the surge of power sounds within them. Jazz and the others look up to see their being pointed at and quickly start running. With a thunderous blast coming out of the massive cannons, the green energy bolts shoot down in a devastating blow. The ice melts and shatters just below the feet of the fleeing Autobot group and causes them all to tossed about like rag dolls.

Prowl dives and recovers his footing quickly as he turns about to get in a few shots at the weapons re-aiming at them.

"They're not at full power! Shoot back! Take them out Autobots!" He screams.

Sunstreaker and Hound manage to get back up and return fire. Both giving a bewildered gaze at the vessel.

"That's not full power?" Sunstreaker nervously shouts back. "You could have fooled me and my ruined waxed hide!"

"Never mind your waxed hide!" Hound barks at him. "If we can't get these offline soon, all of our hides are going to be blasted into atoms!"

•••••••••••••••••

Cliffjumper reaches the cannons and quickly transforms. Taking out his silver weapon out of his unfolding leg compartment, the mini-bot takes a bold leap off of the top of the ship and shoots down at them as he lets out a joyful scream. The few blasts from him and the others manages to jam the one turret from moving, the molten metal quickly solidifies as their hot laser fire and the cool weather combine to immobilize the rotation of it. Cliffjumper lands onto the cannon sticking out and keeps balance on top of it.

"Yeeeehaaaa! Oh yeah! There's the good ol' day again!"


	23. Choosing Sides

Chapter 23 – Choosing Sides

Inside the Nemesis gunroom, Starscream pounds on the controls and tries to swerve his cannon around.

"They've jammed the controls! I can't get a target!"

Rumble chuckles at the jet commander's troubles and taps his console in a sarcastic manner.

"Gee, tough break there Starscream. I guess I'm going to have to bail you out with my cannon."

As Rumble laughs, the jet commander turns his own shoulder cannon against Rumble and blasts him in the back. The mini-Decepticon shouts in agony and drops to the floor with a smoldering hole in his back. Stepping over to the controls now, Starscream kicks the mini-bot while he's down and chuckles as he turns his attention back to the fight.

"No thanks Rumble, I'll just take yours instead."

The decepticon stares into the sight scope that soon adjusts to his eye line and searches the outer shell of the ship for the disruption. As he zooms over the hull and locks onto the damaged cannon, he notices Cliffjumper standing on the edge of it while firing his gun at the other cannon ports.

"Ok Auto-brat!" He growls. "Time for you to get a taste of your own medicine!"

Starscream touches the controls, a various array of buttons, dials and holographic alignment spinners.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The cannon further down the outer hull begins to pivot and extend, the weapon shows a swing arm at the base giving it an almost elbow reaction as it now targets at Cliffjumper. The little red Autobot doesn't notice it right away, but as he stops firing his weapon and hears the sound of the metal clicking, the robot quickly turns his head to see the barrel end facing him.

"Uh oh." Cliffjumper utters as his joyful grin goes sour.

The cannon fires just as the small robot leaps out of the way, but his back is struck from the edge of the powerful laser shot that screams past him. The quick strike sends him hurling down to the ground below. The smoke billows from his scorched hide like a rocket diving down to the ground of melting ice. His body crashes into the massive pool of cold water surrounded by chunks of glacier debris.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Watching the monitor inside, Starscream lets out a joyous laugh in victory.

"I got him! I got him!!"

Thundercracker scowls at the air commander and keeps firing his weapon at the other Autobots.

"Lucky shot Starscream…that's all it was."

"HA!" Starscream quipped back at the blue robotic jet. "Luck had nothing to do with it. My aim was sheer perfection! You're just jealous of my keen eye and superior skill."

"Give me a break Starscream." A voice now sounds from below the Deception.

The commander notices Rumble starting to stir back into consciousness and begins to stand up.

"He was standing right in front of you and you shot him in the back!"

"How would you know that Rumble? You weren't near the controls…" Starscream scoffs as he allows the small mini-robot to rise in front of him.

"I was about to take care of him till you got greedy and stole my cannon!"

"Yes Starscream…." A voice interrupts.

As the air commander looks up, he notices Skyfire standing there with his arms folded with a serious glare.

"You are greedy when it comes to taking glory of others works."

Starscream steps over rumble and brings his finger up to the towering white robot, Skyfire doesn't react as the Decepticon confronts him.

"Stay out of this Skyfire! I do what I want, when I want, however I want…"

"So it seems." Skyfire states. "I remember a certain project of mine that you once stole and declared it your own to the Cybertronian Science Council."

"That was a long time ago my friend." Starscream says as he lowers his hand. "I'm surprised you actually remember that."

"I'm beginning to remember a lot of things. I remember when you were more scientist then soldier. You use to have such compassion back then…so much more understanding towards lower life forms."

Starscream turns his attention back to the cannon controls and allows Rumble to resume his position.

"Every creature is lower compared to us…we are the ones destined to rule the galaxy. They're nothing more then lab rats to experiment on or keep as slaves for our purposes."

He turns his head back at Skyfire who looks appalled at his statement.

"I woke up Skyfire." Starscream continues. "Why don't you do the same? Or is your brain still frozen in time?"

Skyfire lowers his eyes at the obvious insult his friend made. He could see Starscream was dead serious in his convictions and gave one last comment as he walked out of the room.

"Perhaps you're right Starscream. Its time I woke up."

••••••••••••••••••••••••

Down on the bridge of the Nemesis, Megatron watches the battle on the monitors and smirks with pride. The visual shows Optimus Prime and the others scrambling about to avoid the cannon fire as it blasts massive craters in the surface. It showers the Autobots in ice chunks and water.

"Nothing can stop us…not even you Optimus Prime." Megatron chortles.

Spike becomes infuriated by the images and runs over to Megatron as he begins punching away at his leg.

"Bastard! You Bastard! Make it stop do you hear?! Stop this!!"

"Spike!" His father shouts as he tires to pull him away.

Megatron looks down and continues to smirk, a human trying to harm him with his weak flesh fists is enough to amuse this metallic giant and cause him to push the humans aside with a slight tap of his foot. While it might have not been much effort to kick them, the impact of his actions cause Spike and Sparkplug to be thrown to the far side of the room. The two smack against the wall and groan from pain.

"Stupid creatures." Megatron snickers as he turns to face them. "Nothing you can do can harm me either. Look at you…soft, weak, and totally inferior to any other life form in the universe. It amazes me you insects have lasted as long as you have."

Chip Chase looks over at the computer terminal again, the download was still in progress on the human computer linkup. A thought now creeps into his brain and keeps his eyes focused back on Megatron and Ravage. The black robotic cat walks over to retrieve Spike and Sparkplug as Megatron motions to him to do so, that gives Chip the opening he needs and starts to run towards the computer.

"Megatron!" Archeville warns to him. "Stop him!"

The Decepticon leader notices Chip reaching the terminal and typing away on the console frantically.

"Ravage!" The leader summons.

The black cat quickly turns about and charges towards the computer hacker. Chip continues to type quickly and then finally pushes one last button. Ravage smacks the young man down with its massive paw and holds him down with is claw. Chip lets out a blood curling yell as the feels them digging into his back. A sudden snap of bone is heard as he continues to scream in pain.

"OH GOD! STOP! GET OFF OF ME! PEASE!"

Suddenly the power begins to surge throughout the ship, lights flicker, the monitor begins to scroll and the guns soon silence. Megatron hurries to the controls and tires to correct the problem. The scowl on his face deepens, as he cannot resume control of the ship's power.

"What have you done human?!" Megatron howls at Chip.

Too over come with pain, Chip Chase loses consciousness as Ravage continues keep his claw wedged in his back. Megatron pounds on the console and points at Archeville.

"Get over to that human device and find out what that fool has done!"

"Right away Megatron!" Archeville nods frantically.

He too has a stake in what his happening, whatever Chase has done, it has also harmed his plans as well. He quickly grabs hold of the computer and taps away on the keyboard. The information scrolls up and his eyes grow wide with panic.

"He's using an encrypted virus…it's destroying all information in this computer and the mainframe of the Nemesis!"

"NO!" Megatron gasps.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

As the Autobots battle away outside, the outer ship guns suddenly stop and power down. It puzzled them all for a second, their weapons still firing away for a few more moments and then easing back on the triggers once they realized nothing was firing back at them.

"Ok?" Prime says with a curious gaze. "Now what? Don't tell me they've given up this easily."

Ratchet takes the moment of calm as the chance to go and rescue Cliffjumper. The Autobot sprints over to the base of the ship and dives in to the hardening glacial wet snow to pull his friend out. It must have been deep down and hard to reach him, Ratchet wasn't coming up and it gave the Autobot leader a moment of pause as he waited. Ironhide began to panic as he too noticed the medical robot not returning to the surface. He started to run to the slushy area Ratchet dove into and began shouting.

"Ratchet! Cliffjumper! I'm comin' guys! Hang on…don't die!"

Optimus managed to grab him before he had the chance to reach it and tried to keep him back.

"Wait Ironhide! I can't let you go down there too!"

"But..but Prime! They're not coming back up! They've sunk to the bottom of this icy mess! We gotta go get them before they deactivate for good!"

Suddenly Ratchet re-emerges though the already hardening slush and pulls the unconscious mini-bot out with him. As he manages to rise up on solid ground, Ironhide gives him a knock on the shoulder and smiles.

"Way to go Doc! I knew you had heated oil in that system of yours!"

Ratchet just rubbed his arm from the painful punch he received and gave a coy laugh.

"Yeah…uh…right. Let's get him to some cover so I can scan him for damage."

Optimus Prime looks at Cliffjumper just as the tiny robot's eyes switch on again.

"You know…you're pretty stupid. Pulling a stunt like that."

Cliffjumper starts to laugh quietly.

"Hey…somebody has to be the stupid one."

Ironhide takes hold of the small red Autobot and carries him away with Ratchet. Prime just shakes his head and chuckles lightly. Just as he turns about, a green laser goes streaking past his head. Turning to look upward, the leader sees the Decepticons on top of the ship firing down at him.

"Autobots! Covering fire!"

As Prime dashes for the nearest snow bank for cover, the Autobots all stand up and shoot at the various targets to give their leader a chance to regroup with them.

"Keep at them! Don't give them a chance to return a shot!" Jazz screamed over the noise.

Standing on top of the ship, and ducking from the Autobot's lasers, Starscream tries to command the few that are with him.

"Thundercracker, Rumble, Skywarp, Bonecrusher! Return fire and protect me!"

"Shut your face you coward!" Thundercracker snarled.

"I order you! As your leader…"

"Stowe it Girlscream!" Bonecrusher grumbled as he dived down to miss a shot coming at him. "Just point those null rays at the Autobots and protect this ship you idiot!"

The Decepticon jet commander gives a twitch of his right eye in anger and summons up the courage to fire back himself. Screaming to the top of his voice, the commander unleashes a barrage of shots like a crazed maniac.

"This is nuts we need support!" Rumble yelled in a worried tone.

A shadow casts over him as it blots out the sun from behind, standing behind him was Skyfire, gun in hand and looking out at the battling Autobots below.

"Skyfire! Bout time you showed up…" Rumble sighed in relief as he looked to see him. "Show them what Decepticon might is all about!"

The giant white robot stared at his weapon in doubt. He looked to Starscream who was still going wild with his shooting and gave a slight sigh of discontent. This is not the sort of thing he'd wish to be in, he was never a soldier; he never liked this type of conflict. To fire his gun at another seemed almost disgusting to him. Still, he was drafted no matter what. The time had come for him to choose a side. The only question running through his mind at this point and time was…which one?

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Ravage kept his foot on Chip, despite his groaning of pain, the black robotic cat never eased up as it pressed down on his shattered spine. Megatron and Archeville hovered over the controls in panic. The ship was not responding to any command codes or giving any information to the various buttons they pressed. With alarms blaring all over and sparks shooting out all over the room, Ravage became distracted and glanced over at the computers going haywire.

Bursting through the door at that very second, the mini-autobot group came pouring in with guns blazing. Windcharger took out Ravage; the blast sent the cat sailing to the other side of the command center and knocked him out cold. Bumblebee and Huffer came over to Spike and Sparkplug as they shot at the Decepticon Leader.

"Ok guys, enough of your picnic with the 'cons, we're out of here!" Bumblebee mused as he greeted them.

Megatron had been caught off guard by their forced entry; his body was deflecting most of the shots, but shielded his face with his arms as they kept at him.

"Eat laser ya hot head!" Brawn laughed at the silver leader.

"AUTOBOTS!! Daaaaah!!" Megatron howled. "You'll suffer for this…"

"More like you will…Megadolt!" Windcharger snickered as he stood side by side with Brawn shooting at the Decepticon.

Huffer scooted over to Chip Chase lying in a pool of blood and scooped him up.

"I hope you're a good guy kid, cause I'll hate myself in the morning if you turn out to be someone I should have left behind."

Bumblebee flipped into his VW Beetle form and opened the doors for Spike and his dad. The two jumped in quickly and strapped in. The yellow bug spun his tires and drove out of the room in a flash. Huffer carried Chip as he ran out of the room as well, giving a slight pause by the door as he looked back at the other two.

"Come on you guys! Let's high tail it out of here!"

Windcharger and Brawn nodded to each other and bolted after him.

"Autobots, lets move!!" Brawn shouted.

As they just cleared the doors, a blast of Megatron's fusion cannon streaked over them. Brawn returned fire in retaliation and quickly transformed with the rest as they drove out of the ship for their lives. The leader let out a bitter scream of anger as he sent two more blasts for the metal walls. He had hoped to break through it and strike the escaping bots, but to no avail. As the smoke cleared and the moment of tension ended, Doctor Archeville crawled out from cowering under the computer console and blinked in confusion.

"They…left me? They left without me?"

Megatron heard his voice and scowled down at him. Pointing his fusion cannon directly that the man's head, the leader's eyes turned bright red in fury.

"I should wipe you off here and now…and do so to all that did this to my ship! Humans! The entire race should be erased from the cosmos for good. I've had more then my fill of you lot. You…yes…you were the leader of this project and you are the one to suffer the consequences!!"

"NO! No Megatron! I beg of you!" The man quickly whimpered as the glow of the weapon pulsated deep within the dark cylinder. "Spare me! I am yours to command! I…I will do whatever you ask! Anything at all!"

The Decepticon eyes continued to glow bright, but soon dimmed down as his mood changed. Now with a smirk on his face, Megatron delighted in hearing the human man beg for his life.

"Anything at all, huh?"

Archeville wept in fear and kept his eyes tight as he continued to plead to the massive leader. He even dropped to his knees clutching his hands together as a last resort.

"I will give you all my secrets….all my knowledge…I won't hide anything from you anymore…my….my leader. Please, let me live and I will help you to destroy your enemies forever."

Megaton laughed, despite the ship still seemingly falling to pieces around him. He retracted his arm cannon and pointed at the sniveling coward beneath him.

"And so you shall, Doctor. And so you shall."

Suddenly the computers snap back online and the ship began to power up again. Megatron gives a surprised look and taps his chest communicator.

"Soundwave…report."

"The virus has been purged from the computer core, systems are now operational…" The monotone voice answered back. "And the ship is now ready for full power."

"You are a most gifted and trusted Decepticon Soundwave." The leader proudly stated. "Return to the bridge and assume your station."

"Affirmative!"

Archeville gasps in awe and looks at the computer, the virus was indeed gone, the symbol of the Decepticons now graced the monitor once more.

"Impossible! You couldn't have restored the core so quickly!"

"We are not of this planet, Doctor." Megatron stated coldly. "Do you think a mere alien virus could stop us? I suppose this was one of your secrets to battle against us. A failsafe incase you needed to control us…right, Doctor?"

"I didn't think Chip was ready with it…he too kept secrets from me." The man reluctantly nodded.

"A bold attempt…but foolish in the end." The silver leader replied.

Megatron tapped his chest again and opened another communication link.

"Starscream, we have Autobot intruders trying to flee the ship with our human hostages. Destroy them the minute they come into view."

"Yes, mighty Megatron." The sarcastic voice of the jet commander replied.

Archeville wiped his face from the tears he shed and stood up again. He looked at his robotic hand and felt his metallic skullcap, he wasn't human anymore it seemed; perhaps that is why the others left him. The madness within him was convinced this was so. No longer a member of the human race, but a member of the Decepticons, it became clear to him now that he was now a Decepticon.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Look sharp you losers!" Starscream shouted. "We've got Autobot infestations about to pop out at any given second! They must not escape…kill them all!"

The group of Decepticons laughed as the order pleased them, continuing to fire on the other Autobots below, they now await to see more appear and make an escape.

"Skyfire!" Starscream said as he turned to see the giant robot gazing off into the distance. "Prepare yourself for battle! That is an order!"

The massive white transformer gave a long sigh and pointed his weapon sheepishly. Giving a brief look to the jet commander, he gave reluctant nod and did as he was instructed.

"As you command…Starscream." His voice said with displeasure.

As they others tried to keep the Autobots occupied with cross firings below, the mini-bot team finally tore out of the ship's hull and dropped to the thawing ice ground below. The Decepticons noticed them instantly and began targeting them immediately. One by one the small team of Autobots got struck while in their vehicle modes as they came crashing to the ground. Brawl quickly transformed as he spun around and fired back at their attackers. The others hit the ice hard and started to sink, the heat from all the lasers was making it difficult for any of them to find solid ice to drive on. The ship was now becoming surrounded in a lake sized ice flow that began to expand each time they tried to spin their tires on a chunk of the land. Bumblebee began to panic.

"I…I can't seem to get a hold of anything! Help! GUYS! I'm in trouble!"

Inside the small yellow car, Spike and Sparkplug noticed the water starting to seep in. They were trapped and helpless to do anything. Bumblebee couldn't transform with them still in side, even if he did…the two of them would still be caught in the icy cold waters with very little protection. Spike, sitting in the passenger side, pounded on the closed window and shouted in fear.

"OPTIMUS! HELP!!"

The Autobot Leader could do nothing. Each time he stood up, Starscream was pinning him back down and giving him no chance to aid their escape.

"Damn it all!" He cursed. "Spike and Sparkplug are in there…we've got to get to them now!"

"Not to mention Bumblebee…" Ironhide grumbles as he takes a shot at the Decepticons. "And the rest of our buddies! Their sitting ducks!!"

Huffer begins to sink down, unable to transform as he too has a human passenger inside of him.

"Uh oh! This isn't good…no good at all!"

Brawl tries to swim over to the others and keep them up, as does Windcharger who quickly transforms and helps in repelling the laser fire coming down at them.

"I can't use my force field with them all over us!" Windcharger shouted. "I'm using all my energy to stay afloat in this slushy pond here!"

Starscream laughs at them all as he enjoys watching their struggle down below. As do the other Decepticons as they now intensify the shots and manage to watch Huffer go down.

"We've got them! Keep firing!!" Starscream's shrilling voice commanded.

Skyfire remained watching the scene below. He hadn't fired a single shot. He was too busy looking at these struggling cybertronians below trying to save a group of humans. It was amazing. They could have just transformed and left the beings to drown while they made it to safety. This was not the 'evil' group of Autobots he was lead to believe they were. They cared. They actually cared to help a species unlike themselves to survive.

He looked at his weapon in disgust and lowered it immediately. He was not a killer, he had no craving to murder for the sheer sake of doing so, and it was not in his nature. He was a scientist; he cared for life…all life. It made no difference to him good or bad, human or alien, his belief in the old teachings of Primus gave him instinct that this was all wrong.

"All life is precious." He muttered softly as he remembered the wise words of Cybertron's historic liberator.

"What?!" Rumble questioned as he heard him. "What are you on about?"

"This is wrong." He said raising his head up. "I will not destroy innocent lives."

Starscream now heard him and turned his gaze to the massive white robot remaining still.

"You will do as I command! You are a Decepticon soldier and you must obey!"

"No. I will not." Skyfire stated.

The jet commander stopped shooting and turned around to fully face the defiant friend of his.

"Yes you will!" He barked. "We are at war and that is our enemy below! Do it! Or be branded a traitor!"

"You were not like this before Starscream." Skyfire pointed to him. "Once you were the greatest scientific mind on Cybertron. You and I believed in preserving life. That the galaxy was to be protected from harm and our mission to observe new life forms. Don't you remember? You went to the science council to give me permission to explore and chart the galaxy. To create a catalogue of all life forms and expand our knowledge…"

"You fool!" Starscream laughed. "I did no such thing!"

"What?" The large transformer said in a confused glare.

"You seriously bought into all that nonsense I filled your head with?" The commander smirked. "I was so tired of hearing your boring theories on primitive life forms and what we needed to do to protect them that I let you believe you had permission."

Skyfire's mouth gaped at Starscream's admittance.

"And you fell for it." The jet commander continued. "Your transmission back to Cybertron of all the planets and alien civilizations was recorded…and kept on file in my personal archives. I took credit for all your discoveries, all your accomplishments, and all your work in the scientific community. Thanks to you, I became the lead scientific advisor on the council and took my place among the greatest scholars that ever lived!"

"Why? Why would you do this to me?!" The massive white robot questioned. "I trusted you! You were my friend!"

"Friend?" Starscream chuckled as he tilted his head slightly. "You were a threat. A threat to my rise to power, if I hadn't gotten rid of you…the science board would have made you the lead advisor. I couldn't have that now could it? So I let you believe you had their blessing. I told them you where a criminal, that you fled our planet after I had discovered your treachery and showed them all the secrets you managed to steal from the other scientists."

"I stole nothing!"

"Oh but you did. Or should I say...I did." Starscream laughed. "I was stealing their stuff right under their noses and pinning it all back on you. After all…you did give me your access codes and access to your lab as well. But what does it matter now? I killed them all when the war began. They dared question my authority on helping the Decepticon cause…so I showed them the meaning of betrayal and became the new scientific head of Cybertron. They got in my way and had to be punished for denying me my rightful ascension to power. Someday I'll even manage to be the ruler of Cybertron itself once Megatron is gone! And on that day my friend…I will be a GOD!"

Skyfire backed away slowly as he looks at the commander laughing wildly. His utter shock and growing hate for this creature was too much to handle. The one and only friend in the entire universe he could trust was his ultimate enemy. Stabbed in the back and given a false friendship he took for granted all these many years.

"You're insane!" Skyfire shouted in anger. "A twisted, warped-minded lunatic that should be put away forever!"

"Tsk, tsk…" Starscream suddenly stopped laughing and shook his head in a sarcastic manner. "That's no way to talk to your future ruler like that. Your problem is that you're too soft Skyfire. Weak and pathetic…just like the Autobots. It was a mistake to revive you…I should have let you remain deactivated forever!"

Skyfire's fist balled up. He absolutely loathed this Decepticon, but not just him, all of the Decepticons. He growled slowly at the continuing laughter of the jet commander, but his voice grew louder and louder until his growl turned into a bitter scream of hatred. The anger in him exploded as he took fist and struck the evil jet commander in the face with all his might. As the commander fell, the massive white transformer took his gun and fired it at the other Decepticons as they turned to look at Starscream fall flat on his back. His strikes managed to take out the weapons in all of their hands. They were awe struck from the sudden treachery from this new Decepticon recruit and crippled by plasma burns from his weapon. Skyfire quickly transformed into his alien Cybertron jet form and flew down to the struggling Autobots below.

"Optimus!" Ironhide shouted as he took notice of Skyfire heading to the drowning team.

"I see it." The leader responded as his eyes squinted. "Let's see what he does."

"But Prime!!" The southern accented Autobot snarled back at him. "We've got to stop him! He's going to kill them!"

"No Ironhide." Prime stated as he stood up to watch. "I have a feeling he's trying to help."

"What?!" Ironhide gasped. "You've got to be kidding me?!"

Prime didn't say anything more. He had witnessed Skyfire's actions on top of the ship and of the chaos the Decepticons where now facing after his quick attack on them. For whatever reason Optimus couldn't fathom, he just had feeling this fellow Cybertronian had a change of heart.


End file.
